Newcastle Knights prop Jacob Saifiti has shared his thoughts on his time on the bench during Origin 1, revealing he anticipated the possibility of not playing at all.
As the only Blues player not utilized from the 19-man squad, he noted that the team activated Matt Burton as their 18th player after Tolutau Koula was taken out due to foul play.
In contrast, Queensland managed to use just 17 players throughout the match.
In an interview with News Corp, Saifiti mentioned he almost stepped onto the field before halftime. However, with the Blues trailing by 14 points at the break, he did not expect to play.
Blayke Brailey took the field as the 17th player instead, followed by Matt Burton, who came on late in the game to help secure a try that ultimately led to a victory for the Blues at the start of the series.
"I knew with a six-man bench it was a possibility," Saifiti confirmed to NewsCorp Newswire.
"I was close to going on for Isaah Yeo just before halftime, but I knew at halftime we were chasing points, so it was a good chance I wasn't going to get on."
"After Tolu went down, it was a free interchange, but we were still chasing points. Honestly, if we were winning, I probably go on in that situation. But the fact that they needed creativity meant I wasn't going to."
"I've been on the other side of it when we're defending points they put me back on, so that's the game we play."