Newcastle prop Jacob Saifiti has been named on the bench for next Wednesday’s State of Origin series opener at Accor Stadium, and the 30-year-old says the call came as a pleasant surprise. Saifiti said he first thought he might be in the mix when Knights and Blues assistant coach Brett White approached him on game day at Magic Round, before Laurie Daley contacted him only hours later.
“It was a pleasant surprise,” Saifiti said, adding that he is probably in career-best form. “It’s not that I don’t think I’m playing good footy - I’m probably in career-best form. It was just a really good surprise.”
The selection gives New South Wales another middle-forward option for a series opener in which depth and impact off the bench will matter. Saifiti is likely to fill the role occupied by Spencer Leniu in recent years, bringing size and energy to a Blues pack that will be asked to handle the opening minutes of the Origin grind. For a player whose name has already become part of the Blues conversation this week, the recall also lands alongside another storyline in Queensland, where the Tanah Boyd and Kalyn Ponga link grows as Queensland rethink selection.
Saifiti’s path back to the Origin arena has not been straightforward. His first State of Origin appearance in 2022 came after a hamstring injury forced out Jordan McLean, and he said that debut arrived before he was truly ready. “I probably wasn’t ready then (for a debut). It sort of happened by accident,” he said. “I’m pretty nervous for this game, but I was a lot more nervous then. I probably wasn’t in the best form in club land as well.”
He said this time feels different. The Newcastle prop has already played a couple of Origin games and believes the extra experience has changed how he is approaching the occasion. “Obviously I’m a lot more experienced now. I’ve played a couple of Origin games, a lot more footy up my sleeve. I’m excited,” he said. That contrast matters because the Blues are not just selecting a name; they are asking a player who has lived the intensity before to carry part of the load again.
The recall also came only days after his twin brother Daniel retired because of a long-term shoulder injury, closing the book on a seven-time Blues representative career. Jacob said Daniel was one of the first people he called after hearing the news, and the family connection will sit with him when he runs out next week. “He’s had a good career and he’s a family man. He put his family first (by retiring),” Saifiti said. “I’ve got that last name on my back, not only will I’m representing my family, but I’ll hold something special for him as well.”
That is the tension in the selection: a player in form, but still carrying the weight of family, memory and the unfinished business of Origin. Saifiti said Daniel will be in his heart at Accor Stadium, and for New South Wales the question now is whether the 30-year-old can turn a surprise recall into the kind of bench impact that shapes a series opener.
