Hammer ready to give Turbo a workout
Maroons flyer Hamiso TabuaiFidow is ready to burn the Blues, with Queensland set to throw ‘The Hammer’ at underpressure NSW star Tom Trbojevic.
On the back of the Blues losing superstar centre Latrell Mitchell (calf), Tabuai-Fidow will be unleashed on ‘Tommy Turbo’ at the Adelaide Oval as the Maroons look to exploit a potential weakness in NSW’s Dally M Medal star.
Trbojevic will head into Wednesday night’s Origin series-opener on the back of a lean run of form for Manly and question marks surrounding his fitness following multiple injuries.
At his peak, Trbojevic is one of the most devastating players in the game – as evidenced by his 2021 Dally M Medal season and Origin domination of the Maroons that year.
But Queensland coach Billy Slater has made a positional switch in his centres, moving 14-game Origin veteran Valentine Holmes to the right side, where he will confront Mitchell’s replacement Stephen Crichton.
That will pit the in-form Tabuai-Fidow, who’s scored 10 tries in 11 games for the Dolphins this season, against Trbojevic on Queensland’s left edge.
Trbojevic cemented his Blues selection with a hat-trick against Canberra in his last start, but Tabuai-Fidow will enter the contest brimming with confidence.
“No, I’m not nervous,” he said. “With Billy bringing me into the team, that has given me a massive confidence boost.
“Latrell and Tommy are great players and we know what they can do as some of the best players in the game.
“But whoever I mark, I will cut down their thinking time. That’s what I have to do. They can’t have time because you know what they can do.
“In saying that, I have the speed and I feel stronger this year too. Having that speed and strength, I think it will be a good battle in the centres and I can be a threat too.”
Tabuai-Fidow, 21, burst into the NRL as a winger-fullback at the Cowboys, but made his Origin debut for Queensland at centre in the 2021 dead rubber.
Former Queensland coach Wayne Bennett, who coaches Tabuai-Fidow at the Dolphins, said he was ready to shine at centre in the Origin arena.
“He’s got his game under control,” Bennett said.
“He is a quiet guy but he is well-mannered, highly respectful and knows his football. He communicates great.
“It’s a bit like Latrell playing centre, Hamiso’s a footballer and Latrell’s a footballer. It’s the same with ‘Turbo’, he’s a footballer.
“They’ve got wonderful skills and a feel for the game. You can’t manufacture that.
“They put those two (Mitchell and Trbojevic) in the centres for NSW two years ago and they were really effective.
“When ‘Hammer’ got his opportunity two years ago in the centres he didn’t let anyone down and he won’t this time.”
Trbojevic scored a hat-trick in Game One of the 2021 series as NSW blew Queensland away in a 50-6 record win and he collected the Wally Lewis Medal as player-of-the-series.