NSW enforcer Spencer Leniu has revealed his new teammate Latrell Mitchell wasted no time in burying the hatchet in Blues camp this week.
Rabbitohs star Mitchell slammed Leniu earlier in the year after the Roosters prop called Broncos young gun Ezra Mam a monkey in Round 1.
Mitchell called on the NRL to send a message by handing Leniu a monster ban and he ultimately got eight weeks for the racial slur.
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But Mitchell’s first order of business after joining NSW camp this week ahead of his first Origin game in three years was to find Leniu and clear the air.
“I think that is a true credit to who he is as a person,” Leniu said.
“For him just to come (in), the first thing he did was to pull me aside just to let me know, ‘I’ve got your back … Let’s just go rip into some Queenslanders’.
“It’s just a true credit to who is as a person for him to come in and speak to me like that.”
Leniu said he was never dirty on Mitchell for publicly condemning him over the Mam incident.
“No, not at all,” Leniu said.
“He’s a really passionate person about his culture and his people. He’s a voice for so many people who don’t have one. He was just backing up his people, as I would mine. That’s it.
“I’ve played against him so many times and we do a lot of videos to try to stop him. To be by his side, it’s gonna be really exciting,” he said. “He sort of just walked in and I looked at him, I was like, f***, that’s Trell Mit!
“I’ve prepared so hard to play against him because of how much he impacts the game. For him to be by your side, it gives you a lot of confidence.”
Mitchell said on Monday that he’d put the incident behind him and there were no hard feelings.
“The reflection is all done, we’ve put it behind us, the NRL has dealt with it and we’ve got to move forward,” Mitchell said.
“I’ve got a job to do. Me and him will talk and just let bygones be bygones. The lessons have been learnt and we’ll go from there.”
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WALSH FORGIVES NSW ROOKIE
As Blues players doubled down on their threat to go after Reece Walsh again in Game 2, the Maroons superstar confirmed on Tuesday that he had smoothed things over with Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii after the NSW rookie knocked him out of the series opener with a vicious high shot.
The incident in the opening eight minutes has lit the fuse for a fiery game in Melbourne, with Suaalii copping a four-game ban for the high and late shot as he jammed in to pressure the electrifying fullback.
A lot has been said from people on both sides of the border, but Walsh has moved on and is champing at the bit to get back on the field after he was forced to sit out two club games under the NRL’s concussion protocols.
“That’s footy. It is what comes with the sport,” Walsh said.
“He sent me a nice message and I sent him a nice one back, too. At the end of the day, you want to represent your state with pride and do whatever you can for your team. Things happen.”
The Blues have vowed to target Walsh again at the MCG, but the young gun isn’t fazed by what might come his way as the Maroons look to wrap up the series with a game to spare.
“If I had any doubts or was scared I wouldn’t pull on the Queensland jersey,” Walsh said, having been tackled in the air while putting up a clearing kick in the first few minutes in Sydney.
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“I know how much it means to the people of Queensland and past players. They need a team that is willing to put their body on the line and do whatever for their state. If I was scared or shy in any way I would pull myself out.
“I knew I had the protocols to go through and there was a bit of persuading with Bill (Queensland coach Billy Slater) to get my job back because ‘Hammer’ killed it.
“That was a bit tough but I just had to tick all the boxes. I am grateful for Bill giving me the opportunity.”
Walsh has developed into the most captivating player in the world right now, with the Broncos star excited to combine with speed machine Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, who replaced him at fullback and tormented the Blues with a hat-trick of tries.
“Hammer is phenomenal with what he brings to a footy team,‘ Walsh said.
“You can’t coach speed and it is hard to go up against speed. I am just glad he is in my team and I can use his skills and back him up. I know he is going to do the same for me.”
By Martin Gabor, NCA Newswire
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MAROONS COMMENT THAT ANNOYED GAL
The war of words between New South Wales and Queensland is escalating with former Blues captain Paul Gallen landing the latest blow.
The public spat between the rival camps came after Maroons enforcer-turned-assistant Nate Myles sprayed Blues debutant Joseph Suaalii as he was sent off in Game 1.
Suaalii had just knocked out Reece Walsh with a high shot and the foul play triggered accusations that the star fullback had been targeted.
NSW coach Michael Maguire then said this week that Queenslanders questioning his Game I tactics were living in “glass houses”.
It was a not-so-subtle sledge of Maroons coach Billy Slater’s judiciary record as a player and it saw Gorden Tallis hit back with this zinger.
“I played against Madge and he was never targeted, no one even knew he was on the field,” Queensland icon Tallis fired back on NRL 360.
Now Gallen, who infamously knocked out Myles with a booming right hand in the 2013 series, has entered the fray.
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Gallen and Myles spoke at an Origin lunch in Melbourne last week and Suaalii’s hit on Walsh became a talking point.
Gallen said he “did take exception” to something Myles said but didn’t wish to repeat it “because I’ll probably get it wrong”.
“I feel like he was alluding to the fact NSW went out there to take Reece Walsh out,” Gallen said on 100% Footy.
“He didn’t say those words exactly so don’t quote me on saying that but he was alluding to it in my opinion and I think it’s absolutely ridiculous to think in this day and age anybody would go out on the field and use foul play to take anyone out of the game.
Slater responds to ‘glasshouses’ comment | 04:56
“I’ve been involved in the game for more than 25 years now and not once in my entire time of NRL have I ever had a coach, manager, trainer or another player say let’s go out and get this bloke and do something to him to take him out of the game.
“Particularly the way the game is refereed and ruled these days, how many cameras there are, (it) is absolutely insane (to think that), so I really hope the Queensland coaching staff wouldn’t be thinking that.
“I can’t believe in this day and age they think something like this would be going on.”
BLUES ENFORCER’S WALSH WARNING
By Martin Gabor, NCA Newswire
Meanwhile, Blues enforcer Liam Martin has declared his team will “be going after” Reece Walsh in game two at the MCG, with the Panthers star not buying into suggestions from north of the border that NSW players targeted the livewire fullback in Sydney.
Walsh was ruled out of the game after just eight minutes when he was smashed high and late by Blues rookie Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii who jammed in and hit the Queensland fullback after he’d passed the ball.
Walsh was concussed and Suaalii was banned for four matches, with Maroons coach Billy Slater biting his tongue after the game, only for some other Queensland legends to accuse NSW of going after their attacking maestro.
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While the Maroons have warned their rivals to not go after Walsh, Martin says they’ll be adopting the same gameplan which is to pressure the fullback and limit his time with the ball.
“I treat it the exact same. It doesn’t change,” he said.
“He’s such a key for them so we’ll be going after him. We’re not intentionally going there to get him. It’s part of the game. Nothing will change.
“It is a fine line because it’s a game of the barest margins. If someone falls and you clip them high, otherwise it would’ve been a good shot.
“You try to be physical, and while accidents happen, you try your best to not put yourself and others in those situations.”
Martin set the tone in the opening minutes in Sydney when he tackled Walsh in the air as he put in a clearing kick, but he’s adamant he would have done the same to anyone in that position.
“It was just kick pressure. You do it every game and I had an opportunity to get him,” he said, having also whacked Reuben Cotter and J’maine Hopgood in the series opener.
“I definitely wasn’t out there to hurt him or anything like that. It’s just footy and you try to be physical.”
The strong words from legends like Gorden Tallis, Kevin Walters and Johnathan Thurston after the game haven’t affected the Blues, with Martin quick to point out that the opposition will go after their best players.
“I try not to buy into it too much so I block out that noise,” he said, with Queensland bringing hit man Felise Kaufusi onto the bench.
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“I’m sure they’re going after a few of our boys like we’re going after some of theirs. It’s just footy. You’re never there to intentionally hurt anyone or injure them.
“You hate seeing people like that, and after the game you just hope he (Walsh) pulled up all right.”
Stephen Crichton will shift from the left to replace Suaalii in Melbourne, and he’s made it clear how he’ll handle Walsh having done a good job for Penrith against him in last year’s grand final.
“I’ve always played against Reece by being nice and aggressive and trying to limit his involvements as much as I can,” he said.
“I know that I’m not going to get it right every time because he’s an X-factor player with good footwork and speed.
“I’m not going to go out there and try to do it myself. I’ll stick with the boys around me and attack him as a team.”