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But only because of the rugby league spectacle it provided and Fonua-Blake is adamant it won’t have taken gas out of the Raiders’ tank before their semi-final clash in the nation’s capital this Saturday.

Having endured his own slugfest in the last-gasp elimination final win over the Roosters the day before, Fonua-Blake said he watched a Canberra team desperate to win and fully expected an outfit motivated by the loss to turn up this time rather than be gassed because of it.

“No way. I feel like that is going to drive them a bit more, keep that hunger in them,” the Cronulla prop said on Wednesday.

“You see that, and that question does pop up in your mind.

“But Ricky (coach Ricky Stuart) will be looking after them this week and I know those boys are very professional and will be looking after themselves.

“We can’t be thinking about that going into the game. We have to think about how hard they are going to come.”

A raucous cauldron in Canberra awaits Cronulla and rather than be daunted by the prospect of a crowd that went after the likes of Broncos star Reece Walsh last weekend, Fonua-Blake said their energy got him going.

That includes the “Viking clap” used to fire up the home team.

“It puts me in the right state of mind,” he said.

The Sharks entered the finals with little outside support of going all the way, which moved star halfback Nicho Hynes to call out what he perceived a lack of respect.

But Fonua-Blake said that wasn’t driving him and his teammates.

“What’s written about us, what’s said about us, is not going to change the outcome on the weekend. It’s about how much we turn up for each other,” he said.

“No one here is doing it for the write-up, or the mentions, we just want to win. It’s been a few years in the making now, the team has been through a bit of heartbreak this time of year, and everyone wants to win.”

That desire extends to star playmaker Braydon Trindall, one of those who flies under the radar but remains a matchwinning “freak” and a Cronulla X-factor, according to Fonua-Blake.

“He’s got that little bit of magic in him,” he said.

“He picks and chooses when he wants to do it and he can pull it out of the fire with one single play. I feel like he does go under the radar a bit, but he doesn’t mind that.

“He just wants to win.”