"He may have scored some tries but the rest of his game wasn't up to standard. The in-between stuff - his movement off the ball, his competing in certain areas - he just wasn't doing it."
Hurrell remembers the conversation well.
"He told me he really wants me in the team but he will never play me if I don't perform well, or don't look fit or train well. It helped change my mentality. I knew I wouldn't get the opportunity if I turned up like that."
At that stage, the Tongan had played 40 NRL games but still looked a rookie, guilty of coasting at times. The attitude had to change and the forthrightness of McFadden cemented that realisation.
"I thought back to how I was at the start [of my career]," Hurrell said. "I was hungry and one of thousands of kids who just wanted to play footy. Then I got the opportunity and slacked off from that."
It didn't help that media and fans tended to make excuses for Hurrell. It was true he was new to the sport, and indeed the country, but a harder edge was required - more of a sink-or-swim environment.
"Cappy [McFadden] has been hard on him," team-mate Thomas Leuluai said. "In the past, I got the hint people cuddled him a little bit and tried to help him along. Cappy told him how it was - the truth - and to his credit he reacted to it. He needed that. He needed to know he was picked on performance rather than potential."
Hurrell looks a different player. Gone are the erratic displays, the touches of brilliance mixed with baffling mistakes, and he looks much more reliable on defence. His diet has improved, as he has cut back on takeaways ("only once a week"), sugar and carbohydrates.
He's much more focused at training and it's paying off on game day, as he works harder with and without the ball. He has been one of the form centres in the competition and is a much better communicator.
"At the start, I was shy around the big players like Shaun [Johnson] and Feleti [Mateo] but now I have confidence to talk to them. It helps so much out on the field."
It has also helped that his parents have been in New Zealand for the past three months, giving him a taste of home and some old-fashioned discipline. Mum's cooking has been well received and his father has been quick to bring him down to Earth with some constructive criticism.
"Dad always gives me a growling," Hurrell laughed. "He'll say, 'stop resting, work harder, stop walking on the field'."
Hurrell will be a key man today against the Raiders and has every reason to be confident. He was outstanding in the round nine 54-12 demolition of the Raiders at Eden Park (209 running metres, three line breaks, one try), tormenting Jarrad Crocker and Matt Allwood. But he remains wary.
"They are always an unpredictable team, especially [with Anthony] Milford," Hurrell said. "We will have to be at our best."
