Roosters enforcer Spencer Leniu will “walk towards the fire” of his first sold-out Suncorp Stadium encounter since his blow-up with Queensland icon and Channel Nine commentator Johnathan Thurston.
Leniu and NSW Origin teammate Angus Crichton were at their aggressive, confrontational best in the Tricolours’ Anzac Day thrashing of St George Illawarra, setting the scene for a must-watch Magic Round clash against the Dolphins on Friday.
Leniu and Thurston made headlines for their on-field run-in three weeks ago. The Maroons great described the comments from Leniu as “not of a racial nature, but overly aggressive in tone and unwarranted.”
The Roosters prop labelled the league great “two-faced” and “fake” after taking exception to Thurston’s call for a longer suspension for Leniu after he racially abused Ezra Mam in Las Vegas last season. Leniu and Thurston had to be separated by a Roosters official after full-time in the visitors’ upset win over Brisbane earlier this month.
Suncorp Stadium will be full and heaving for the second Magic Round fixture on Friday night and punters are unlikely to have forgotten Leniu’s run-in with one of Queensland’s favourite sons, or the spray Leniu gave Broncos fans when he came from the field.
“Oh man, they hate us up there, no doubt,” Crichton said of the Roosters’ return to Suncorp.
Spencer Leniu takes on Brisbane’s Adam Reynolds in his last visit to Suncorp Stadium.Credit: Getty Images
“It’ll be good fun. Spencer loves that, though. And that’s how you have to approach it. You either walk towards the fire or you run away from it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Spencer run away from anything.”
The Roosters have kept Leniu off limits from the media since his clash with Thurston in round six.
Leniu is among a slew of front row options for NSW coach Laurie Daley to choose from for the Origin series opener in Brisbane on May 28.
Incumbents Payne Haas and Mitch Barnett are in fine form, as is Wests Tigers recruit Terrell May, who is putting pressure on series-winning skipper Jake Trbojevic to retain his spot.
Crichton matched Leniu’s aggression against the Dragons at Allianz Stadium, making a beeline for under-pressure halfback Lachlan Ilias and roughing him up early in the contest.
Angus Crichton gets a hand in the face of Lachlan Ilias.Credit: Getty Images
“That’s just my job, isn’t it?” Crichton said. “I’m looking to try and terrorise the opposition half, while he’s trying to steer his team around the park.
“If I can get into him and rattle him off his game, that can go a long way towards getting a win for us.”
The star back-rower said the Roosters were at their best when playing a combative, power game, but have been far too inconsistent in finding it during a 3-5 start to the season.
“That aggressive mind frame is when we’re at our best,” Crichton said. “But we’ve been one week on, one week off all season.
“When ‘Back Fence Spence’ [Leniu] winds up, it’s so good to see the ball go over your head as the back-rower, and you’re standing up near halfway, and you just know that he’s going to come flying onto the ball and end up playing it up around the 30 [metre line].
“He’s stepping into that next stage of his career where he’s a regular representative player, and he’s got a lot of the young islander boys looking up to him now, too.”
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