David Fifita was dropped to the Queensland Cup after a standoff with Des Hasler over which side of the field he wanted to play.
Fifita has been struggling for form this season sa the Titans’ right-edge second-rower and asked the coach to switch to the left.
Hasler did not want to move Beau Fermor, one of Gold Coast’s few players who have been performing well, away from his preferred left edge so Fifita was subsequently dropped for Magic Round, according to a NewsCorp report.
The representative star was playing 35km to the west as his Titans teammates took to Suncorp Stadium on Sunday, but he was unable to inspire the Ipswich Jets who lost 32-0 to the previously winless Northern Pride.
Fifita ran for an underwhelming 58m from nine runs in Ipswich with 20 tackles and none missed.
“There were just some areas that we wanted him to look at to work on, and some thinking along those lines,” Hasler said of his controversial call in the post-match media conference after their heavy defeat to Canterbury.
Fifita had pledged to lift his game during his demotion to the Queensland Cup and tried to explain that “the truth will eventually come out” when asked about the reasons why he had been dumped to the second-tier competition.
The 25-year-old is on one of the most lucrative contracts for a forward in the NRL and early last year announced he would be leaving the Titans to join the Roosters before backflipping days later to stay on the Coast.
Hasler was non-committal over whether he will bring Fifita back into the NRL team for this Friday’s trip to Newcastle.
Samoan pals square off for Blues jersey
Melbourne prop Stefano Utoikamanu says he has no regrets about leaving Wests Tigers as he prepares to take on his former club with a spray from coach Craig Bellamy ringing in his ears.
The former NSW prop also has the added incentive of an up-front battle with on-fire Tigers front-rower Terrell May, his former Samoa national team roommate.
Utoikamanu was penalised twice while in possession of the ball in the 20-18 golden-point loss to Canberra at Magic Round, the second time when the Storm were setting up for a winning field-goal 15m out and right in front in the 83rd minute.
Terrell May. (Photo by Scott Gardiner/Getty Images)
The 24-year-old was put on report for stomping on Raiders hooker Tom Starling but the match review committee did not charge him.
At AAMI Park on Sunday, Utoikamanu has the opportunity for redemption against the club where he played 75 matches before leaving to join the Storm.
The Tigers are eighth, just two points behind the fourth-positioned Storm, and are a much-improved outfit since Utoikamanu left last year’s wooden-spooners.
“I knew as soon as I signed to come here (to the Storm) that it was probably going to be one of the best decisions I’ve made in my career,” Utoikamanu said.
“So I don’t regret anything. I’m just focusing on what I can do better next week.
“I was there (at Wests) for a couple of years and wasn’t really going well, so I am just happy for the boys I knew there and happy to see them turning it around.
“I was pretty close with Fonua Pole and he is doing well this year.
“I’m just going to review this (Raiders game). I know I’ve got a lot to work on. “I’ve been concentrating on … how I can get better every week. This is probably a step back from what I have been doing so I will take my learnings into this game.”
May has had a career-best season and is closing in on a NSW debut. Utoikamanu said he was “looking for more work” against the Tigers, something he will need to do to keep May at bay. “(May) is probably one of the best props in the comp and the amount of work he gets through is second to none,” Utoikamanu said.
“I was his roomie in Samoa camp in 2023. It is good to see he has gone there and taken the pack under his wing.”
Utoikamanu said he had “let the team down” with his indiscretions against the Raiders, a sentiment Bellamy would agree with.
“Twice he did it. It’s unlike anyone,” Bellamy fumed.
“You show me a bloke that gives away two penalties when you’ve got the ball in a game.”
with AAP
The Roarhttps://https://ift.tt/pZFEkhQ News: Bizarre reason behind Fifita axing revealed, Samoan teammates go head to head for Origin spot
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