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Melbourne back-rower Felise Kaufusi feels like he is starting to hit his stride after a troublesome hamstring injury put him out for a month - and is all but a certain selection to make his Maroons debut next month.

Kaufusi represented Australia in the World Cup at the end of 2017 following a stunning breakout season but his hopes of continuing that momentum were scuppered by a round-one hamstring strain which kept him on ice until round five.

He looked like his dominant 2017 self by round seven in the win over Brisbane before racking up a season-high 114 metres in the big Anzac Day win over the Warriors. Last weekend's loss to the Dragons was a bump in the road for the team overall, but Kaufusi remains hopeful he and the team continue their steady improvement.

"It was a bit of a setback with the loss [to the Dragons] but I feel like I'm building and building each and every week," Kaufusi told NRL.com.

"I was out injured for a couple of weeks at the start of the season but I'm starting to put some games together now.

Given an unexpected 2-3 start to the year, Kaufusi said there was no risk of complacency despite the big win over the Warriors.

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"We were good for a few weeks and I think [the Dragons loss] was a bit of a wake-up call," he added.

"Hopefully we can go back to the drawing board and come back stronger this Saturday [against the Titans at Suncorp Stadium]. It's a big stadium, one of the best we've got in the NRL. It's always good playing in front of a big crowd and we get a lot of support up there which is good."

Kaufusi is odds on for a Maroons berth given the neck injury which has sidelined fellow edge back-rower Matt Gillett but the 25-year-old insisted there were still plenty of good players for coach Kevin Walters to consider.

"There's a lot of good players, a lot of good back-rowers he can pick so the best I can do is play well each week to push my case."

 

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Queensland Rugby League respects and honours the Traditional Custodians of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and future. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on the lands we meet, gather and play on.

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