If Kotoni Staggs has his way, the last person to leave Wellington next Wednesday will turn the lights off.
Staggs wants the whole town at Stadium Australia when he makes his New South Wales debut in the State of Origin series opener, all 4,500 of them.
For a little town in the state's central west, Wellington has punched above it's weight when it comes to Blues stars — Staggs is the third Wellington man to play Origin in recent years, alongside Blake Ferguson and Tyrone Peachey, and he's fiercely proud of his hometown.
So it doesn't matter how many cars or vans or buses they're packed into, he wants them all to come over the mountains to be there with him, to watch it happen, to see this former Wellington Cowboy become a Blue.
"I'll have all of Wello there, hopefully. Everybody's coming, there'll be a lot of carloads coming up," Staggs said.
"It means a lot to me, it's a small community but we love our footy, it helps us get along and get together. To have a few Origin players from there is unreal for the community.
"I was at the races in Brissy, having a punt but it's hard to back winners, and Freddy [Blues coach Brad Fittler] congratulated me and told me I was in the team. It was an unreal moment for me, and an emotional one for me and my family.
"Origin night always goes off in Wello. The pubs are booming, or it's pizza and a few beers at one of the boys' houses.
"The atmosphere, it comes through the TV, how big the crowd was, all the blue faces. That and how tough the game was, that always stood out to me."
In selecting Staggs, Fittler is backing him to show that same toughness.
An easy way of labelling somebody as being up to State of Origin football is to call them "an Origin-style player" regardless of whether they've played at that level or not.
At it's worst, it's a lazy way of explaining why you'd select a certain player over another without actually offering a reason. At it's best, it's about as a high a compliment as a player can receive.
Staggs falls into the latter category. His athleticism as a centre, his willingness to play with a physicality that allows him to impose himself on his opposite number and his aggression on both sides of the ball is proof of that.
While he was always a gifted attacking player, Staggs has experience terrific improvement as a defender this year by attacking ball-carriers with a greater intensity – he gets up and in their face, especially when he's locked in on his opposite number.
Staggs has 50 one-on-one tackles across 12 games, easily the most in the league with Cameron Munster in second on 32.
Among centres, Staggs's aggression and physicality is even more pronounced – he has almost as many one-on-one shots as Zac Lomax and Dane Gagai, who are third and fourth in their position for one-on-one tackles, with 26 each, combined.
Former NSW coach Phil Gould, Fittler's greatest influence as an Origin coach, always took a shot on players who were willing to play with no fear and no hesitation. It's a practice Fittler has continued.
That's Kotoni Staggs to a tee. It's been that way since he was playing back home in Wellington, and it's the only way he knows. He's coming up and getting in your face and daring you to do something about it.
"It's just the way I play footy," Staggs said.
"I'm a competitive person and I love competing, I love leaving everything on the field and doing a job for my teammates."
Staggs will line up at his usual position of right centre, with Daniel Tupou expected to partner him on the right wing.
It remains to be seen if he'll come into direct conflict with Broncos teammate Selwyn Cobbo, who will also be making his Origin debut as part of Queensland.
Cobbo and Staggs play together down Brisbane's right edge, but Billy Slater could switch the exciting youngster to the left in an effort to match his other high-flying winger, Melbourne's Xavier Coates, onto NSW left winger Brian To'o.
"I haven't spoken to Selwyn yet, but he's earned this," Staggs said.
"I couldn't see them going past him. He's been outstanding, and I'm happy he made it. He'll do great for them, he'll do his job."
