{"id":378543,"date":"2024-03-22T19:35:39","date_gmt":"2024-03-22T20:35:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=378543"},"modified":"2024-03-22T22:04:08","modified_gmt":"2024-03-22T22:04:08","slug":"freddys-revelation-as-nightmare-pushes-origin-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=378543","title":{"rendered":"Freddy's revelation as 'nightmare' pushes Origin claims"},"content":{"rendered":"

B\ufeffrad Fittler<\/a> has revealed Haumole Olakau'atu was on the verge of a State of Origin<\/a> debut last year, with the Manly<\/a> back-rower pushing his claim for a NSW<\/a> call-up.<\/p>\n

The 25-year-old has been dominant for the Sea Eagles in the opening two rounds of the season, averaging over 170 run metres in each appearance and crossing for a barnstorming try against the Roosters.<\/p>\n

Olakau'atu has already represented Tonga on five occasions at the international level, but now looks poised for a spot in the Blues' lineup under new coach, Michael Maguire<\/a>.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Young gun's big contract news after coach fires up<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Tszyu's warning ahead of 'awkward' title defence<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Joey reveals 'pressure' behind Ilias, Hastings axings<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Speaking on Wide World Of Sports' Freddy and The Eighth<\/em><\/a>, \ufeffthe now-former coach revealed the hulking edge forward came close to earning selection in 2023, before a dip in form at a crucial time saw him miss out for NSW.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

"He was there last year, but then Manly's form just dropped," Fittler explained.<\/p>\n

"We were looking at him so closely and talking about him constantly – he was a weapon. He has gone again and he is a much better player this year than he was last year.<\/p>\n

"I was talking to someone who does a lot of statistics around effort areas and he was the main man in that game [against the Roosters].<\/p>\n

"That's the difference and that wasn't there last year."<\/p>\n

Olakau'atu will be battling for a spot with the likes of Liam Martin and Keaon Koloamatangi in the back-row, while the likes of Bryce Cartwright and Hudson Young could also be in the mix when the Origin series rolls around.<\/p>\n

Watch the 2024 NRL premiership live and free on Nine and <\/strong>9Now<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Andrew Johns<\/a> was also full of praise for the Sea Eagles giant and believes he would be a "nightmare" for opposition defenders.<\/p>\n

"He'll be there for sure … he was so destructive [against the Roosters]," Johns said.<\/p>\n

"I walked past him before the game and just thought where would you tackle him? With big guys like that on the edge, there's a big area where you can cut them in half – but the worst thing is when you've got blokes with footwork.<\/p>\n

"Olakau'atu would be a nightmare."<\/p>\n

Manly will look to continue their unbeaten start to the season against the Eels on Sunday afternoon. \ufeff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

B\ufeffrad Fittler has revealed Haumole Olakau'atu was on the verge of a State of Origin debut last year, with the Manly back-rower pushing his claim […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":372547,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378543"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=378543"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378543\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":378546,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378543\/revisions\/378546"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/372547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=378543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=378543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=378543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}