The Ogre inspires wrecking ball Paulo

JUNIOR Paulo is ready to “run through blokes” during his Origin debut for NSW tomorrow after some inspiring words from his idol, former Blues prop Mark O’meley.

Over a decade after watching O’meley dominate for NSW, Paulo is primed to follow in his idol’s footsteps and star on the Origin stage.

The Eels enforcer has gained valuable insights from man nicknamed Ogre, who has been in NSW camp as the team’s COVID-19 marshall, heading into Origin I at Adelaide Oval.

“Mark was the king of coming off the back fence and it has been great to be able to learn off him,” Paulo said about O’meley, who played 10 Origins for NSW between 2001 and 2006.

“He made a name for himself by doing that and being the enforcer bloke to put the boys on the front foot.

“Mark just told me to enjoy that first hit-up and try and set the tone for the team.

“I guess everyone wants that first hit-up and if I do get a chance, I won’t leave anything in the tank and I’ll just run through blokes and hit hard.

“It is going to be a game of who is the toughest and who can last the longest.”

Paulo’s journey to Origin has been long, and challenging path.

Several off-field incidents threatened to detail his promising career before he left Parramatta to sign with the Raiders in 2016.

“I think moving to Canberra helped me become more mature,” he said.

“It was the first time I moved away from home and being a young parent taught me to make better decisions.”