Gold Coast Titans captain Tino Fa'asuamaleaui has suggested Moeaki Fotuaika should be recalled to the Queensland State of Origin team for Game 2 of the series in Brisbane on June 21.
The call comes with Billy Slater set to pick his squad for Game 2 on Monday morning, Queensland will be forced to make at least two changes in the forwards, with Jai Arrow to miss out with an ankle injury, and Tom Gilbert a shoulder injury.
Fa'asuamaleaui himself could have joined the duo on the sidelines after being replaced on report during Thursday evening's win over the Wests Tigers, but ultimately escaped sanction from the match review committee on Friday morning for a perceived raised forearm into a collision with New South Wales dummy half Apisai Koroisau.
Fotuaika, who has played 113 NRL matches at the age of 23, is one of the most consistent props in the game and regularly churns out big minutes for the Titans, where he is averaging 157 metres per contest so far this season.
Playing all but two games off the bench this season, Fa'asuamaleaui said during the post-game press conference that Fotuaika simply does the little things right on a consistent basis and is the sort of player he loves to play alongside.
“Definitely,” Fa'asuamaleaui said when asked whether Fotuaika deserved a recall to the Queensland side.
“I think he has been playing very good. He has been our best player mostly every week.
“Obviously there have been some injuries, and I'm hoping his name is tossed up. It hasn't been tossed up too much I guess in the media, but he is just the guy who does the little stuff and works hard. It goes unnoticed, but I'm hoping he gets picked in the team.
“He just does all the little efforts. A couple of times there he filled the space and put some big tackles up. On the back-end of that with his running, he is taking the tough carry that no one wants to take and I'm so glad I get toi play with him because he is the type of player everyone wants to play with.
“To see the way he is playing each week for this club and us boys is special, and I hope he is in contention for the Origin.”
Fotuaika, who is also eligible to represent Tonga and has played five Tests for the nation, played four State of Origin matches for Queensland in 2020 and 2021 after bursting onto the scene in 2018, where he played 16 matches in his NRL debut season for the Gold Coast.
