Jordan McLean

Jordan McLean has been on NSW coach Brad Fittler's radar for more than five years after he being asked to assess the 30-year-old prop by former Blues mentor ...

“It is good that he was really positive about the team and those two guys in particular,” Fittler said. “At the end of the day when I think about it that was most probably the smartest thing to happen,” Fittler said. Like Payne I will look forward to seeing how he goes at the back end of the year.” “With what he has been doing for the Cowboys, he is a bit of an unsung hero for them. “If he is our 18th player then the other 17 are obviously playing well.” “That was a tough one but I think the versatility that Sifa gives us on the bench is most probably the reason we went with Sifa instead of Jack,” Fittler said.

Scott Sattler says he's never shaken as much as when he made his State of Origin debut, but the former Maroon has backed a Blues rookie to fire.

“He’s a big-game player from his time at the Storm, but this is going to be a baptism of fire for him. Jordan has been outstanding, and it comes down to resilience. I think he was just excited.” He never seemed overawed by the situation. “To be amongst players who you’ve played a lot of rugby league with and against can be a weird feeling, especially if you’ve achieved more on the field than some of them in terms of premierships or the number of games you’ve played. He was 31 years and 194 days when he played his one and only game in 2003, and even he was rocked by the enormity of the situation.