Where’s Fergie? Not at his Origin session

BLAKE Ferguson has effectively put a red line through his NSW Origin career after snubbing a request from coach Brad Fittler to attend a Blues bonding session on Friday.

The snubbing likely ends not only Ferguson’s Origin career, but seven months of tension between the 28-year-old and Fittler, who refused to pick the star winger for this year’s triumphant campaign.

The decision was seen as a response to both Ferguson and Josh Dugan breaking team protocol a year earlier, when they downed beers at the Lennox Point Hotel only days out from Origin III.

Yet while the omission seemed a given in many quarters, Ferguson was not only surprised when overlooked but expressed “disappointment” at having not received a phone call from Fittler to explain the axing.

Quizzed on the decision, and if it put red line through Ferguson’s name, Fittler said: “There’s 26 players in there that I’m really excited to go have a chat with. Everything is taken into consideration.

“I haven’t kept up with what Blake’s thinking.

“But he was asked to come today and he decided to train with Parramatta, for whatever reason.

“He’s at a new club, new environment, maybe he’s just doing whatever he can for them.

“We wish him all the best.”