Amazing admission on his dismissal from the NSW State of Origin team is made by Haumole Olakau’atu.
Olakau’atu has been in superb form for his club this year, which saw him earn a Blues call-up in the first place. Coming off the bench, Olakau’atu was expected to be a serious threat on the edge against a tired Maroons outfit, offering a real try-scoring threat for NSW. But he was rather quiet in both performances having only played 23 minutes and 18 minutes respectively.
It will also allow Liam Martin to play 80 minutes as a right back-rower, instead of moving to the middle as part of the middle rotation. And despite being disappointed at being left out of the series decider Olakau’atu says it was the right decision.
The Manly back-rower ran for 83 metres off the bench in Game 1 but only managed 19 metres with six tackles in Game 2. Ahead of Game 3, Maguire pulled the trigger and brought in Barnett in his place to provide NSW more versatility on the bench, with Barnett able to try and help dominate the middle of the field as well as being able to play on an edge.
Olakau’atu was one of the first to contact Barnett once he was informed by Maguire that he no longer had a place in the 17 and the New Zealand prop says he feels really bad for him. “I feel extremely bad for Haumole,” Barnett said.
“He is a terrific player and a terrific person. He was one of the first people to message me when the team was announced. It just shows the character he’s got and the character this group has got. I’m extremely grateful for his friendship and his kind words.”
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