Tongan powerhouse Addin Fonua-Blake is eager to rip into Penrith

Andrew Webster has named a strong squad to combat a Penrith side aiming to win three NRL premierships in a row.

But blockbusting prop Addin Fonua-Blake says the Warriors are prepared to “fight fire with fire”.

“We know what they’re gonna bring, they’re the best in the comp for a reason. They’ve got the best defense in the comp and we’ve just gotta fight fire with fire.

“Parramatta showed a couple of weeks ago, we’ve just gotta match them from the get go and set the tone. We’ve just gotta go out there and go straight through the front door.”

Fonua-Blake says there is a lot of excitement amongst the playing group, ahead of the teams first finals match in five years.

He says after a tough couple of years, it is great to be back in finals contention.

“There’s definitely a lot of excitement. For a few of the boys it’s the first finals they’ve played in and for the club it’s their first time finishing top four in a while.”

The Warriors will play their first finals game in five years where they were knocked out of the finals in the first round, coincidently by the Penrith Panthers.

Now back into finals convention, Fonua-Blake says the support around the country has rubbed off on the players in the Warriors camp.

“Seeing the high spirits from the fans and seeing everyone singing ‘Up the Wahs’ it’s pretty uplifting coming into work every day so I’m loving it.”