Fifita rides knocks to lay claim to Maroons’ No.11 position
David Fifita was left “dizzy” in his return to the State of Origin arena but the Maroons monster wants to make the Queensland No.11 jersey his for years to come.
Fifita is set to back-up for the Titans against South Sydney on Saturday night at Cbus Super Stadium, 72 hours after his successful Origin return.
The 23-year-old made his first appearance for the Maroons since 2021 in Wednesday night’s Origin I victory against NSW at the Adelaide Oval.
The hard-running backrower played 72 minutes in his sixth Origin game, punching out 15 runs for 105m and 25 tackles.
He was forced from the field for a head injury assessment late in the first half after a collision with Blues fullback James Tedesco, but returned to finish the game at centre as Queensland was badly hit by injuries.
Fifita burst into the Origin arena as a teenager in 2019 but did not feature in any matches in the 2020 and 2022 series because of injuries and form.
Fifita said he was rattled by the head knock but elated to be back in a Maroons jersey and he did not want to let it slip when Queensland looked to clinch back-to-back series wins at Suncorp Stadium on June 21.
“I don’t know what happened,” he said of the Tedesco clash.
“I felt a little bit dizzy and that, so with the player safety, they got me off but I got back out there. I passed all my tests.
“I’m really fortunate and grateful to be in this position with this Queensland team. They’re great players alongside me and to get that win means so much.
“We had players in different positions all over the field. It was a gutsy Queensland win. It was good to be part of it.
“I’ll go back to Titans, play my best footy and try to improve on my game every week. If I’m here in Game Two I’ll do my best.”
Fifita and Maroons prop Tino Fa’asuamaleaui are expected to face the Rabbitohs as the Titans look to snap a two-game losing streak coming off a bye.
“I’ve spoken with both of them and they are keen to back-up which is terrific,” Titans coach Justin Holbrook said. “We all know Tino has done it for a few years now but to have Dave fight back and get his jersey and how hard he’s worked for us this year . . . it was great to see him continue that for Queensland and I’m really proud of how they represented our club.”