Kotoni Staggs continues to make a compelling case for NSW Blues Origin selection this year, and a comment to Johnathan Thurston left the footy legend gagging following Brisbane's impressive 32-12 victory over the Bulldogs on Friday night at Suncorp Stadium.
Staggs, 27, strained his plantar fascia during his team's 21-20 win over the Wests Tigers in Campbelltown last weekend. The centre then bravely soldiered on against Canterbury for his injury-hit team. The foot injury typically requires a moon boot and weeks on the sidelines.
'I was 50-50 whether I was going to play,' Staggs told Thurston on Nine post-game. 'I had to get through it and I knew that I couldn't let the boys down for this one. So it was worth it.'
Staggs told Thurston he had 'snapped' his plantar fascia, which is not medically accurate. However, Thurston understood the injury would have been painful, with the legendary halfback pretending to gag on camera.
Broncos coach Michael Maguire has no doubt Staggs, who played one game in the 2022 series for NSW, would handle the Origin arena. 'If I was in that position (NSW coach), I'd be picking him,' he said. 'I get to see him week in, week out, how he's training, how he's grown as a player, as a leader. He's excellent. He's just got to keep working away at his game and when the time's right, I think he'll get selected.'
Maguire added that although he 'might be a bit biased', he labelled Staggs as 'one of the best centres in the game at the moment'. 'I hope he's being talked about in that (Origin) space,' the dual premiership-winning coach said. 'I obviously understand that space, and for him to battle with what he's been going through in the last two weeks (injury) and do what he's done for his teammates, that's the Anzac spirit. (Also) the ability for a player to play through the things he has, that's in the Origin space. It's really great to see one of our players performing like that for their teammates.'
