Be yourself, back yourself, and understand that you deserve every minute of this.
That was the advice Canberra coach Ricky Stuart gave Hudson Young after he retained his spot in the NSW State of Origin side for Wednesday’s must-win second game at Suncorp Stadium.
The second-rower earned an Origin debut in Adelaide last month for his part in reinvigorating the Raiders following their lacklustre start to 2023.
But it was a lukewarm night for Young, who made an error, conceded a penalty for an illegal strip and was substituted from the field after half an hour, never to return.
Interchange forward Liam Martin replaced him on the left edge and was the Blues’ best player.
When evening turned into night on Monday last week and Young had not heard from Fittler, who was naming his Game II team the next morning, he began to feel nervous.
The call came around 7:30pm. Young was the only one of three debutants to have survived the axe for Game II.
As he prepared for another week in Blue, Young reached out to Raiders coach and 14-time NSW representative Ricky Stuart.
“He just told me to back myself and that I deserve to be there,” Young said.
“That gives me great confidence, knowing that he’s got my back to go out there and be Hudson Young.
“I know that I deserve to be here and I back my own ability. I’m confident in my playing style and that’s what got me here.”
Young insists his truncated Origin debut came as no surprise as onlookers tried to read into his early hooking from the side.
“There was always a plan for me to come off,” he said.
“I don’t know where all the other stuff came from but you’re playing with the best here, so there’s always going to be that rotation plan.
“Hopefully I get some more minutes in game two.
“But the coaches have a rotation plan here and we’ll just run with it.”
As the Blues target a fairytale victory in enemy territory, Young will hope to channel his childhood in the Hunter Valley, when he would stay up late to watch Newcastle greats Andrew Johns and Danny Buderus tear it up for NSW.
“Just being able to go to school as a kid the next day, knowing the Blues had won, it’s something that used to make me happy,” he said.
“If we can do that for the kids in the state and everyone else, then it’s a job well done.
“Getting that opportunity to go up there and beat them on their home turf is something you dream of as a kid.”
Rubbing shoulders with childhood heroes Johns and Buderus, now NSW assistant coaches, has left Young dreaming of an Origin career to match theirs.
“Those two have been massive for me coming into camp,” he said.
“They’re full of knowledge. It’s up to us to soak it up.
“(Origin) is something you want to strive to be in every year.
“It’s somewhere I want to stay. I’ll just keep working hard.”
