As part of a dominant Keebra Park team, Moe Fotuaika used to come off the bench to build on the efforts of Payne Haas, but has now been tasked with trying to restrict him.
Teammates at high school, Fotuaika is now preparing to face off against the Blues enforcer again in the Origin arena and knows the challenge that lies ahead.
"I went to Keebra Park, I went there with David [Fifita], Payne, Jesse [Arthars], AJ [Brimson]; there's a lot of boys in the NRL," Fotuaika said.
“I played with Payne, we were in the same grade together and he's the same size that he was in Grade 8 that he is now.
"I was off the bench, the eight and 10 was Thomas Mikaele and Payne Haas. I’d come on for either of them, so it goes to show what kind of team we had. They were the Australian Schoolboys front rowers at the time.
"(In Origin) everyone speaks about it, mate versus mate, state versus state … that’s me coming up against Payne. It’ll be good to go out there and play against each other.
"A lot of people speak about trying to stop his momentum … (but) you're never going to stop his impact in the game, it's just about containing him and then limiting his opportunities.
"He's making 30 or 40 tackles a game and most of them are effective too and it just goes to show what kind of player he is."
The friends turned NRL and Origin rivals faced off as recently as Round 12, with Fotuaika getting the upper hand as the Titans upset the Broncos. While Fotuaika impressed with 157 run metres from his 15 runs, Haas was a standout in a beaten side with a huge 235 metres run and a try.
“I think as for a club like the Titans, it's one of our biggest rivalries,” Fotuaika said of the match against the Broncos.
“All the boys always get up for it, as well as the Broncos and for me, coming into Origin; you always want to get it over the other forward pack and that's the same as us in the Maroons as a forward pack. You want to dominate in the middle.”
With a number of forward leaders – including his Gold Coast club captain Tino Fa’asuamaleaui – missing from the Maroons pack this year due to injury, Fotuaika’s retention in the Queensland line-up has given him an opportunity to try and cement his spot long term, with coach Billy Slater giving him a simple role to fulfil for the team.
“There are boys missing, so it would be important for me to play well; it's always important to play well,” Fotuaika said.
“Whenever I get the opportunity to come in to camp or play, I try to make the most of it and just do my job.
“It is a different look to the forward pack; but it's pretty exciting at the same time having Jaydn Su’A back, J’Maine Hopgood making his debut.”
“For me it's just about doing my job well, and then also playing well at the same time.
“It's quite simple for us middles. It's just about being aggressive and fast with our movements, with and without the ball.”
