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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Before Blues coach Laurie Daley was prepared to hand Sharks enforcer Addin Fonua-Blake his NSW debut, he had to pass the coffee test.<\/p>\n It was held in a caf\u00e9 in the Sutherland Shire, when all the big questions were asked. Did Fonua-Blake, a Tongan and New Zealand international, bleed blue? Was he ready for the cauldron that is State of Origin football? Did he truly hate Queensland?<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, we met up, we had a coffee and he just sort of asked me, \u2018What are my desires throughout the year?\u2019\u201d Fonua-Blake recalled.<\/p>\n \u201cI told him I\u2019m looking to try and make the Origin team, and he [asked] me, \u2018What does it mean to me?\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cI told him it would mean the world. Obviously growing up watching these games, as a kid, you want to be a part of them.<\/p>\n \u201cHe just said, \u2018All right, well, go out there and prove to me why I should be in the team\u2019. I feel like I\u2019ve done that.\u201d<\/p>\n Satisfied by what Daley heard and has subsequently witnessed on the field, Fonua-Blake was one of six debutants named for the series opener against Queensland at Accor Stadium on May 27.<\/p>\n \u201cAFB\u201d will be joined by fellow newbies Victor Radley, Tolutau Koula, Blayke Brailey, Ethan Strange, and Casey McLean. Each has their own unique story.<\/p>\n For Brailey, it\u2019s being rewarded for the consistency shown during an extraordinary run of 139 consecutive games for Cronulla that only came to a halt last week due to concussion. In Strange\u2019s case, it\u2019s a chance to make a representative debut after failing to get a guernsey during a six-week Ashes tour of England.<\/p>\n Manly\u2019s Koula, meanwhile, will debut out of position, on the wing rather than his customary centre spot. And for Fonua-Blake (Tonga, New Zealand), Radley (England) and McLean (New Zealand), their chance to represent their state came after changes to eligibility laws before this season.<\/p>\n Asked if he had a message for NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo or Australian Rugby League Commission chair Peter V\u2019landys, who introduced the rule change, Fonua-Blake quipped: \u201cThank you! If I see you out, I\u2019ll buy you a coffee or a beer.\u201d<\/p>\n Strange has been compared favourably to Daley, who was also a five-eighth for Canberra.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously he\u2019s a great player and we know our history at the Raiders,\u201d Strange said.\u201cI\u2019ve seen a lot of highlights of Laurie, he was an outstanding player. For people to say stuff like that is pretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Article Daley wants to play an up-tempo game and Koula provides him with one of the NRL\u2019s fastest men.<\/p>\n \u201cIt means everything to me,\u201d Koula said of his selection. \u201cIt\u2019s a dream come true. I\u2019m just grateful that Laurie and the coaching staff have faith in me and I look forward to paying them back.\u201d<\/p>\n Radley said his selection was unexpected.<\/p>\n \u201cI just think that there\u2019s such good competition in my position,\u201d he said. \u201cI probably put myself at the bottom [of the pile] \u2026 which is probably not a good mindset to have. As soon as they changed the eligibility law, I said, \u2018Happy days\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cI was going to do the best I could for the Roosters anyway, but there\u2019s this little thing in my head that if I\u2019m good enough, I\u2019ll be in the [Origin] team.\u201d<\/p>\n News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"NSW](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/78f820a6cd666b02fc151b0f499b4c307204f922.jpeg\")
NSW debutants Addin Fonua-Blake, Blayke Brailey, Victor Radley, Tolu Koula, Casey McLean, Ethan Strange.Grant Trouville<\/p>\n![\"NSW](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779222313_567_dd58a5ba5663d30c73f5306842fa5839098f87c9.jpeg\")
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