Kotoni Staggs knows he’s a different player to the man who last played State of Origin football but for the NRL’s angriest centre some things never change.
Four years after his only appearance for New South Wales was cut short by a shoulder injury Staggs has earned a Blues recall for Origin I on Wednesday night.
It’s a return that’s a long time coming. In the years since, Staggs has played in two grand finals for Brisbane, won one of them, become a regular for Australia and learned to harness his on-field rage, which was always one of his great gifts, to become one of the most explosive and intimidating players in rugby league.
“It’s been a while. I feel like I did get done short the last time I played but I knew I had to stay consistent and keep working hard in my footy and it would come back one day and it has now,” Staggs said.
Staggs is one of the best and most consistent centres in rugby league. (Getty Images: Bradley Kanaris )
“When you’re not in game mode it’s chill, but when you cross that white line it’s game time. The way you think changes. It’s about me making it personal with whoever is in front of me.
“My aggression is what I play with, so (I’m) trying to leave that out there.”
One of the great cliches for this time of year is describing a player as being “made for Origin.”
It’s so played out at this point it can mean whatever you want it to mean but in it’s truest sense it’s best applied retroactively. By doing well in Origin a player proves he is made for it, not the other way round.
Ahead of his second life in blue, Staggs has the athleticism, aggression and cunning to do just that.
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He’s always destructive runner, both in attacking shape on his own — he lead the NRL in unassisted line breaks last year — but since his first Origin game he’s vastly improved his workrate in yardage.
Defensively, he’s come just as far. It’s rare for a centre to act as an enforcer but Staggs does that for Brisbane.
He is a hitman and an apex predator but not blindly so — holding up an opponent out wide and either waiting for reinforcements to drive them over the sideline or just doing it himself has become something of a specialty.
Sure, sometimes the fire burns too hot. Staggs is coming into the game fresh off a two-match suspension for throwing an elbow at the Roosters Hugo Savala, a move he regrets and puts down to frustration.
But given Origin is proof the meek don’t inherit anything, it can be better to go over the edge and pull it back a little than not make it there at all.
Staggs endured a difficult debut for New South Wales back in 2022. (Getty Images: Mark Kolbe )
“If you watch back in the day, the way they played, how rough and tough they were — it’s about not giving up for your brother that was next to you, playing to that 80-minute bell,” Staggs said.
“When they say you’re made for Origin it’s being tough, no matter where you are on the field you take the tough carries, do your job and never give up for your team.
“When I play footy I’m a competitor and I love to win. I take it personal, whoever is in front of me I want to be better than them.
“It comes from loving the game, the passion for it, being competitive and not giving up.”
Staggs never lost the faith that he’d be back here one day, even as the years passed and his Origin debut got further and further away.
Staggs wants to make amends after a long wait for a second chance in Origin. (Getty Images: Bradley Kanaris )
He only made it 50 minutes that night before succumbing to a torn labrum in his shoulder, an injury which kept him out of Origin II and he carried it through the rest of the season.
There was never a guarantee he’d get another shot. Origin history is filled with players, even those as gifted as Staggs, who only got one shot on the game’s biggest stage.
It is an arena without mercy that runs on blood and tears and last time it did what few players have ever managed and got the better of Staggs.
But as far as he’s concerned, it had to be that way so he could become the player he is now and he’s hell bent on making up for lost time and thriving in this land of wolves, starting on Wednesday night.
“Missing the second game, I knew it wasn’t my time — now I can say I feel a lot better, I’ve matured more as a person and my footy is doing the talking. I’m more ready now than I’ve ever been,” Staggs said.
“If I look back to when I first got selected in the team I think I was still young, still learning the game and who I was as a person.
“But now I’ve grown into a leader of the club at the Broncos and a leader outside of that as well. I try and do what’s best for the team, I’m not trying to solve it all on my own.
“I had to let my footy do the talking to be able to get to this place.”
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