At first glance, it appeared as though Andrew Fifita was risking little by declaring that he would donate his earnings to charity if he got his first chance to win State of Origin with the NSW Blues.
The Queensland Maroons basically own the series, so when we learned of Fifita’s proclamation, our initial thought was that the contents of his wallet were at zero risk of dwindling.
On further exam, however, we understood that the Cronulla Shark was offering to donate his game fee, about $30,000, if he is selected by the Blues.
That almost smacks of desperation.
We will join Fifita on that stout limb by saying that if we are chosen as the recipient of the 2018 Walkley Award for sports, we will donate a month’s salary to some worthy cause.
Objectively, we have to say that Fifita’s money is more at risk than ours is and charity would benefit far more from Fifita’s charity.
The Blues won Origin in 2014, but Fifita missed out on that one. He may also have burned a path (mixed metaphor) by opting to play for Tonga over Australia in the World Cup, something that in all probability did not earn him much favour with the NSW selectors.
All the same, according to Blues’ adviser Greg Alexander, Fifita is under consideration.
“If they can make it happen I wouldn’t say not to it,” Fifita said on Sunday.“But for the international I will be with Tonga no matter what. It’s about growing the game.”
Fifita certainly gave the impression of desire to play Origin.
“There’s nothing more in the world I want to win than a State of Origin series. I’ve never won one before and I would love to win one.“I wouldn’t let the team down. My heart is through and through a Blue.”
For those of us who are accustomed to dealing with bookie terms and conditions, we almost thought for the moment that Fifita as offering his fee from game two, a game for which he will not be available due to his commitment to Tonga for the upcoming Test, but we were too quick to rush to judgement.
Selection for 2018 is just over a week in the future.
