"These little places like Whangarei need things like this and I was happy this week just to get out there and promote the game. I think Whangarei has done a great job to get behind this.
"I really enjoyed being back home in Whangarei, I got to see my family and a lot of kids who were really excited to see the Kiwis here. It's nice to be part of something special like that."
While there was a sense of getting out of jail about the Kiwis' win, Blair wasn't going to let that jade his obvious enjoyment of playing in front of his home crowd for the first time.
In what was no-doubt an emotional match for Blair, he hoped Northlanders enjoyed seeing top-level rugby league come to them.
As a child Blair wished he could have seen international rugby league at Toll Stadium to show him from an early age what international sport was all about.
"There are kids that are striving to be league players up here," the 28-year-old explained.
"The good thing about coming to these suburban places is you get kids coming out and seeing their idols, role models, people they look up to and only see on TV, so for them to see them and take photos with them is something they'll cherish for the rest of their lives."
