Tino Fa'asuamaleaui will soon likely be entering Camp Maroon to help his state reclaim the Origin shield, but for the moment, he is fully focussed on earning silverware with his Titans teammates.
Aiming to bounce back against the Bulldogs after being put to the sword by the Knights, the nine-game Origin star admitted thinking too much about getting back into the Queensland squad can impact his game, with the skipper knowing the rest takes care of itself if he diverts all his attention to leading the Gold Coast to victory.
"The more I think about Origin when it's not really on is when I feel like I play badly, so I just try and think about other things," Fa'asuamaleaui revealed.
"I try to focus on the Titans as much as I can and to get that role done right and then hopefully at the end of the game, I'll get a call."
Match: Bulldogs v Titans
Round 12 -
home Team
Bulldogs
15th Position
away Team
Titans
9th Position
Venue: Accor Stadium, Sydney
The 23-year-old has played a big part in helping the Gold Coast work towards avenging last weekend's 20-point loss to Newcastle with a huge focus in defence this week at training, including staying in the fight mentally especially during tough periods of the game.
"In our first training session back, the intensity was very high and it was very solid session," Fa'asuamaleaui said.
"It was good we got that one away and we had another big one yesterday where we worked on the things that we needed to work to come out this weekend and get a win.
"[That has included] just staying in focus. When fatigue hits, its sometimes hard to stay focused and have the right attitude towards things, but I know the boys have got the right attitude towards things this week, so I can't wait to get out there and get those things right."
With the Bulldogs welcoming back Josh Addo-Carr from a syndesmosis injury, Fa'asuamaleaui knows the threat he possesses as former Melbourne Storm and Kangaroos teammates.
"We know how quick he is and the confidence that he brings to their team," he said.
"I'm excited that he's back because we get to verse some really good players and I can't wait to get out there and play him and hopefully we've got some more speed on our team that we can catch him."
