Blake Ferguson has convinced his new coach, teammates and fans of his worth – now he’s just got to win over NSW coach Brad Fittler.
Again.
A shoeless Freddy watched from the ANZ Stadium sideline as Ferguson ran for 272m, set up a try and terrorised the Canterbury defence with each touch in the Eels’ 36-16 win.
Fittler is still not at peace with Fergo’s decision to brush a NSW bonding session before Christmas and is reluctant to endorse the former rep winger’s comeback campaign.
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Barring injury or a major loss of form, Fittler will stick with incumbents Josh Addo-Carr and Tom Trbojevic for the Origin series opener on June 5.
But Ferguson is doing everything in his power to win back the coach’s affection.
“He’s been great. He’s strong, he’s good to have around the group and he’s a winner,” Parramatta coach Brad Arthur said of Ferguson.
“The boys like sitting next to him in the sheds because he breeds confidence.
“He just wants to win – he thinks he’s going to win all the time. That’s the way he is.”
The happy-go-lucky Ferguson had made it clear he would love to regain his Blues jumper, but he has not started mending bridges with Fittler.
He said: “I didn’t want to speak to him before the game. Parramatta is very important to me and I don’t want to side track myself worrying about something that is out of my control.
“I am just enjoying footy. I’m better mentally this year. I know what my role is in this team.
“It’s taken me a long time to juggle both off and on field. I feel like everything is going alright. I’m just enjoying life.”
Arthur was asked if the Ferguson signing was turning out better than he expected, replying: “He was the best winger in the game last year and the challenge was for him to come to our club and continue to be the best winger in the game.
“He’s started the way we needed him to.”