He emerged as public enemy No. 1 in the capital last year but Manly Sea Eagles wrecking ball Addin Fonua-Blake will be spared from the wrath of Canberra Raiders fans come Sunday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Well, most of them at least.
Raiders officials are deciding how they will use the small ticket allocation provided for their home game against Manly at Campbelltown Stadium on Sunday.
A very small group of fans will be allowed to watch from corporate boxes, which might actually be welcome news for Sea Eagles front-rower Fonua-Blake.
The 24-year-old found himself in the firing line last year when he waved to a portion of a 20,265-strong crowd at Canberra Stadium and gestured as if to say "have a cry" after Manly beat the Raiders in a thriller.
MORE SPORT
Raiders chief executive Don Furner slammed Fonua-Blake's antics as unsportsmanlike and fired up fans labelled him "classless" on social media. His next encounter with the Raiders is enough to leave any punter salivating.
Because he will collide with Josh Papalii, the man who has emerged as perhaps the game's premier front-rower, in a heavyweight battle for the ages.
Fonua-Blake is set to take on a bigger role for Manly who could be without Marty Taupau after he dislocated his left thumb, while the Raiders have selection headaches of their own to contend with.
Canberra coach Ricky Stuart could welcome Hudson Young back into the fold this week after he served an eight-game suspension, while Corey Horsburgh hopes to overcome an illness and Ryan Sutton starred in his NRL return last week.
It is a welcome headache for a team NRL great Gorden Tallis believes has all the makings of a premiership-winning team.
From Papalii in the front-row to a world class hooker in Josh Hodgson and the "closest to Laurie Daley we've ever seen" in Jack Wighton, Tallis believes one thing.
"The Raiders have everything," Tallis said on Triple M.
"They've got a tough forward pack, they've got a leader in big Josh Papalii. Their backs are brilliant with [Jordan] Rapana there, they've got metres in their back five.
"They've got a really good set of halves. Jack Wighton, dare I say it, I don't want to jinx him, but he is the closest to Laurie Daley we've ever seen.
The Raiders have everything. They're going to be hard to beat. You just hope they don't get bored waiting for the finals to come.
- NRL great Gorden Tallis
"Trent Barrett had that big [size], [Wighton] is just a big guy on the edge that runs the ball brilliantly. His kicking game gets better every week.
"The Raiders have everything. They're going to be hard to beat. You just hope they don't get bored waiting for the finals to come and they lose their standards.
"The standards they set for themselves have been really high. They've just got to make sure they keep on being honest with themselves."
Caden Helmers
Caden Helmers is a sports journalist for The Canberra Times.
Caden Helmers is a sports journalist for The Canberra Times.
