Jacob Saifiti

“I’m ready, brutha”: the text exchange that confirmed Saifiti was a Blue

It only took a few short words for Jacob Saifiti to show Brad Fittler he was ready for the call-up.

Published by
Jack Blyth

If you ever need a reason to not to press the 'do not disturb' button on your phone, Jacob Saifiti's Origin selection should do the trick.

Originally named a reserve, you couldn't blame Saifiti for thinking that he was only in camp to make up the numbers, to get a little experience around 'the real Origin players'.

Tonight, Jacob Saifiti becomes one.

Having trekked back to Newcastle in preparation to play South Sydney in their Round 17 match-up, it was a short, bittersweet text message from a New South Wales staffer that confirmed 'Jsaf's selection.

'Jordan Mclean has done his hammy at training. He's out, you're in'.

While most would be ecstatic with the news, Saifiti's first instinct wasn't to jump with joy after his 'Steven Bradbury moment'.

"How bad is it?" was the first thing Saifiti came back with, according to the Daily Telegraph.

More concerned about his team mate's wellbeing than his elevation to the Origin arena, it only took a four-word text message from Saifiti to confirm to Fittler that he was ready to follow twin brother Daniel's footsteps, and walk up to the plate.

"Okay. I'm ready, brutha."

While media has focused on 'it should've been Klemmer' or 'it should've been RCG', all the chatter has allowed Jacob to fly under the radar almost, with the majority hellbent on proving why someone else should be there, but no one is mentioning what Saifiti will deliver.

Named to start in his maiden Origin game, Saifiti isn't the guy that'll make 200 metres, he isn't a tackling machine like others, but his tenacity and ferociousness on both sides of the ball lead to another example as to why Origin football is about a hell of a lot more than stats and highlight reels.

It's the tough stuff, the mentality, State of Origin is a war at times, and Jacob Saifiti is someone you want alongside you in the trenches.

So while most land cheap blows, and criticise his selection, Saifiti will be busy proving the doubters wrong, and focused on lifting the Origin shield in front of a hostile Suncorp Stadium, something the Blues haven't done since 2005.

He won't fill the stat sheet or come up with the match-winning play, but he's ready, brutha.

Published by
Jack Blyth