Olakau\u2019atu has been the best second-rower in 2026, with the Manly machine averaging a career-high 165m per game \u2013 43 more than his previous best \u2013 while he\u2019s already matched his best in try assists and will shatter his personal best for tackle breaks.<\/p>\n
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But after starting in the series opener, Olakau\u2019atu was sensationally left out of the 19 for game two in Melbourne where the NSW right edge collapsed defensively as the Maroons piled on the points to force a decider.<\/p>\n
Dylan Lucas was shifted to the right and struggled on debut, with calls already for NSW coach Laurie Daley to recall the Sea Eagles star who was dropped for reasons unknown. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve said it from the start that I wouldn\u2019t have any other back-rower in the country ahead of Haumole,\u201d Foran said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think what he brings to a footy side is unique, it\u2019s different to what many other back-rowers can bring, and I absolutely love that about him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Haumole will just do what Haumole does best (on Saturday against the Bulldogs), which is turn up and perform to the best of his ability. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think he\u2019ll be too worried about proving people wrong and trying to make a statement. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think we know what sort of footballer he is and what he can bring to a footy side, particularly ours. We just want him to go out there and back himself 100 per cent in everything he does.<\/p>\n
Sea Eagles coach Kieran Foran says Olakau’atu doesn\u2019t have a point to prove this weekend. Picture: Cameron Spencer\/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what he\u2019s been doing for us, and his form this year has been unbelievable. It\u2019s been as good as it\u2019s ever been. I just want him to keep going with that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Discussing Olakau\u2019atu\u2019s potential recall, Fox League\u2019s Luke Keary questioned where the towering backrower\u2019s head was at.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow\u2019s Haumole feeling now?,\u201d he said on NRL 360 on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs he going to be willing to die for the jersey in Game 3? That\u2019s the question you\u2019ve got to ask.\u201d<\/p>\n
That prompted CODE Sports David Riccio to declare the situation \u201csad\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWould any Queensland player be asked whether they are willing to die for the jersey,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n
Anasta, however said it came down to trust. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s where we are at. Haumole, or any player for that matter in that team, do they trust and do they believe in their coach. Would they die for them? <\/p>\n
\u201cIf someone does duds you, it changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he\u2019s got such a big career ahead of him, Haumole, he\u2019s got to put it behind him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The panel then turned their attention to Lucas and Daley\u2019s decision to shift him to the opposite side to where he plays for the Knights. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been dudded, Absolutely dudded by Laurie and the selectors,\u201d CODE Sports reporter Brent Read said.<\/p>\n
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 17: Dylan Lucas of the Blues looks on after game two of the Men’s State of Origin series between New South Wales Blues and Queensland Maroons at Melbourne Cricket Ground on June 17, 2026 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cPutting him out of position, on the opposite to where he plays on his Origin debut.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel sorry for Dylan Lucas. I feel like he\u2019s been let down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kear also sympathised with the Blues rookie.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t think he was bad. That right edge got absolutely found out last night and he had to scramble a lot of times and missed a few tackles,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is difficult to go to the other side and he just didn\u2019t get fed any ball.\u201d<\/p>\n
Riccio, meanwhile, said the decision to bring in Lucas for Olakau\u2019atu was defensive.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we analyse why he was there it was due to Olakau\u2019atu\u2019s defensive lapses that saw him fall out of the team,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAgain that highlighted the decsion to get rid of him. In hindsight a terrible decsion. They just got so much wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t understand how you get so much wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘Nathan never does that!’ Missed tackles | 00:50<\/p>\n
Olakau\u2019atu isn\u2019t the only big name Sea Eagle in the mix for Origin III, with superstar fullback Tom Trbojevic set to make a timely return from the hamstring injury that has kept him sidelined since round 7. <\/p>\n
Foran said the club took a \u201ccautious approach\u201d with their best player given his history of hamstring injuries and backed Trbojevic to get the job done if Daley decided to pick him in the outside backs in Brisbane. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s his first game back, so he\u2019ll want to put in a complete 80-minute performance for us tomorrow night and then see how he pulls up,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut there is no doubt in my mind that if he\u2019s called upon, he\u2019ll be able to get the job done (for NSW).\u201d<\/p>\n
While Trbojevic is physically fit again, Foran was proud of the fullback\u2019s mental resilience over the past two months given how frustrated he must have been to suffer yet another injury setback.<\/p>\n
Tom Trbojevic could be back in the Blues team after missing two months with a hamstring injury. Picture: Ian Hitchcock\/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Being sidelined was made easier by the fact Manly kept winning while he was away, with the club surging up the ladder since Foran took over. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe obviously would prefer to be out there and in control of things, so it was tough for him sitting up there in the coach\u2019s box watching on,\u201d Foran said. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut it was a great luxury for us to have him up there. He\u2019s one of the smartest footballers I\u2019ve ever come across and he sees the game so well. <\/p>\n
Daley under pressure after Origin defeat | 01:41<\/p>\n
\u201cObserving Tommy, I just feel like he didn\u2019t want to put too much emphasis on this latest hammy injury. I think he\u2019s been here so many times before and he really is such a hard worker in his preparation. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think for Tommy it was just about not overthinking this latest one. It\u2019s part of what\u2019s happened throughout his footy career and he just knuckled down. He worked as hard as he could, as fast as he could to get his body back to where it needed to go.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sea Eagles coach Kieran Foran is confident edge forward Haumole Olakau\u2019atu can fight his way back into the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":745950,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-745949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/745949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=745949"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/745949\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/745950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=745949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=745949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=745949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}