NZ Warriors prop Addin Fonua-Blake gratefully accepts the role of fill-in club captain after taking charge of the side to start the 2022 NRL season.
With regular captain Tohu Harris out with a knee injury until midway through the year, 26-year-old Fonua-Blake has stepped into the role of captaincy to begin the new season - with one win and two defeats from the first three matches of 2022.
After arriving at the Warriors from Manly Sea Eagles for the 2021 season, Fonua-Blake has quickly become an integral part of the side under coach Nathan Brown.
Fonua-Blake led the side in the absence of Harris and former skipper Roger Tuivasa-Sheck briefly in 2021 but now finds himself as the team's captain for an extended period.
And now as a key figure as part of the Warriors' 2022 campaign, the added incentive of leadership is something that Fonua-Blake is taking in his stride.
"It's not difficult but it's a change," Fonua-Blake said. "I never really had this role at my previous club but that's just a part of growth.
"Moving forward, if the boys need me to be more of a leader, that's what I want to do. I'm here to make this club better in any way I can.
"If my job is to be captain to help everyone grow, that's going to be my job.
"When it comes down on game days, it's the same sort of thing. I just do my own prep [sic] for games as well as I can.
"The only difference is I have to talk to the refs when I go out on the field."
It hasn't all been smooth sailing for Fonua-Blake though. After being bestowed the captaincy at such an unexpected time, the front-rower is still coming to terms with some of the responsibilities now on his shoulders.
"Sometimes I forget I can even go and talk to the ref," he added.
"I just sort of get back into line and carry on. That's one place I need to improve - getting a quick chat in with the ref to justify what's going on.
"It just doesn't come into my mind, because I'm not used to it at the moment. It's a work-on for me."
While inexperienced as a leader, Fonua-Blake is lucky enough to call on more than one teammate with captaincy experience playing alongside him.
"I've really leaned on a few of our older boys in our team. Obviously like Wadeo [Wayde Egan], Shauny [Shaun Johnson], Marcelo Montoya, Dallin [Watene-Zelezniak] and Lodgey [Matt Lodge].
"[They're] just trying to help me a bit. When things aren't going the right way, they help me deliver all those messages.
"Those boys have been around the game for a long time now, I just lean on them a little bit to help me in those sort of times."
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