Canberra centre Blake Ferguson has thrown his support behind close friend and former teammate Josh Dugan to step up for NSW in the next State of Origin match.
The once-troubled duo were creating headlines for all the wrong reasons at the start of the NRL season until Dugan was sensationally sacked by Canberra in March for disciplinary breaches.
Ferguson – who was lucky to escape the same fate – hasn’t looked back since, his sensational form for the Raiders leading to a State of Origin debut in last Wednesday’s game one victory.
And, after three long months and some time out of the game, Dugan is being strongly tipped for a Blues recall, with fullback Jarryd Hayne in serious doubt because of his hamstring injury.
Dugan boosted those chances when scoring 14 second half points on Friday night to help his new NRL club St George Illawarra beat Newcastle.
Speaking after another stand-out performance in the Raiders’ 30-18 win over Brisbane on Monday night in his 100th NRL match, Ferguson said it would be good to see Dugan play for NSW again if Hayne was unavailable.
“Mate it would be good, it’s good to see Dougie playing some good footy,” Ferguson said.
“I’m very happy for him. He’s one of my best mates.
“If that happens, it happens. It would be good.”
However Ferguson emphasised he hadn’t even locked in a spot himself yet for the next Origin match on June 26 despite an impressive debut when targeted by the Maroons.
“I’m not counting my eggs,” he said.
“I’m not going to say I’m going to be in the team yet but I’m going work my butt off to get back in there.”
Meanwhile, Ferguson’s Raiders teammate Josh Papalii can breathe a sigh of relief after the match video review committee cleared him on Tuesday over a lifting tackle in Monday’s game which was put on report.
Named as the 19th man for Queensland for game one, many believe Papalii’s aggression is just what the Maroons need to get them back into the series in game two in Brisbane.
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