Saifiti thought suspension would ruin his Origin chances

Newcastle Knights forward Jacob Saifiti wasn’t sure about his Origin chances this year after being handed a five-match ban in March for a dangerous tackle on Wests Tigers hooker Jake Simpkin.

But in hindsight he said his time on the sidelines made him more determined to not let his Knights teammates down again.

Now, he’s been rewarded by being recalled to the Westpac NSW Blues team for Origin III next Wednesday after making his debut in Game Three of last year’s series.

“I got suspended for five weeks… and I was very disappointed about that,” Saifiti told nswrl.com.au.

“But after I got back from that I feel like I came back and played some pretty good footy.

“It was driving me a bit, so I must have done something right to get back into the team.”

The only misgiving now for Saifiti is that his twin brother Daniel is not with him.

“He was the first person I told,” he said.

“It’s hard because obviously I’m so glad to be back in the side but I also know how good a level of football Daniel is playing this year.

“It was a goal of both of ours to play Origin together this year.

“I’m confident it will happen in the future, but it is hard.”

Daniel Saifiti has played seven Origins (2019-2021) and told his brother to do his family and teammates proud.

“We both thought it might be difficult with the Knights season so far,” Jacob said.

“The better you’re going as a team, the more eyes that are on you and the more likely you are of getting picked.

“It’s been a weird one for our club. We’ve been up and down all year, but we’ve been competing hard so I’m very glad to be back here.”

That makes it a double celebration for the Knights with centre Bradman Best also in the Blues side.

“Bradman is one of my good mates,” Saifiti said.

“He’s been in the system for a while now. He’s such a dedicated trainer; he was breaking his own records on the field and in the gym in the pre-season.

“So, to see him get the reward for all his hard work is heart-warming.

“I feel he’s been one of our shining lights all season at the Knights. It is thoroughly deserved and I’m so happy I can be there with him on the big stage.

“He’s been getting a lot of early ball this year and he’s started to show everyone what he can do with the ball in hand and with some space.”