It’s been a long wait but Sydney Roosters co-captain Jake Friend says he is finally ready to stake a Queensland State of Origin claim in 2020. The nuggety rake wasn’t getting ahead of himself despite being welcomed into the Maroons’ full strength weekend camp in Brisbane on Saturday with open arms by coach Kevin Walters.

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But the 30-year-old was quietly confident of at last making the Queensland No. 9 jersey his own after overcoming a nightmare injury run in 2019.

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“If I am picked I will bring something. Everyone here (at Maroons camp) would want to be a part of that and bring the Origin series back to Queensland,” Friend said.

“It (Origin) is a lifelong dream.

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“And I enjoy the big games. I’ve loved every one of the grand finals and semi- finals that I have been involved with (the Roosters).”

After standing in Cameron Smith’s shadow for so long, Friend looked set to finally make his Maroons debut last year before disaster struck. He broke down with a biceps injury, ruling him out of the entire Origin series. Then came more bad news, damaging his arm just two games into his NRL comeback and sidelining him until a dream return off the bench in the Roosters’ 2019 premiership win over Canberra.

“It was a tough start to the year. It would have been nice to have been fit and see what happened (in Origin) but it wasn’t mean to be,” Friend said. “The arm is all good and healthy. I am just looking forward to getting some footy under my belt for the start of the year and hopefully I can play well enough to put myself in the (Origin) mix.”

Friend said his frustrating fitness dramas that restricted him to just six games last year had only made him hungrier to don Maroon.

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“Rehab is very lonely. It was a long year but I have been lucky,” he said. “The positives are that the rest of the body is fresh.

“My arm is strong and I am doing everything. I am even more keen to get on the field and rip in.”

Walters was ecstatic to bring Friend into the Origin fold on Saturday, indicating the Roosters rake would get the nod over incumbent Maroons No. 9 Ben Hunt.

“In the bigger games when the game is on the line he has … experienced how to win which is very important – my belief in Jake is unbelievable,” Walters said. “He has waited a long time to get to this level. (But) Cameron Smith is no longer here.

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“Ben Hunt has been good the last 12 months but Jake wasn’t available. It is so valuable everything he (Friend) brings to the team and he is a bloody good bloke too which is even more important.”