Stephen Crichton had his left quad strapped but moved freely during a team walk in Brisbane on Wednesday morning, with Blues officials confident he will play, but also stopping short of declaring him a certain starter.
Crichton, the game’s best centre – and arguably most in-form player – will not be required to undergo a fitness test on the quad he corked during an opposed session on Monday, and will stretch out for the first time in the sheds beneath Suncorp Stadium.
Blues assistant coach Matt King said the Blues would be “1-19” on the team sheet. The fact Matt Burton was not brought into the extended squad suggests Crichton will be fine, with Campbell Graham to remain 18th man.
“Everything is looking positive,” King said. “We’ve got Campbell Graham is the in case anything happens, but we’re looking good.
“‘Critta’ [Crichton] is a big powerful thing, and if he’s walking well, then great. He got a genuine cork on Monday. We had a really good opposed session against Wynnum Manly, he made a choice in defence to go and get someone, and he copped a little one in the thigh.
“As soon as he tells us he’s ready to go, we’ll back him 100 per cent.”
Stephen Crichton was in good spirits at NSW’s game-day team walkCredit: Grant Trouville/NRL
King said Graham had trained in several positions and was ready to go if Crichton was unsure about his fitness.
The last thing NSW need is for Crichton to break down during the game, which would mean a player like Angus Crichton having to shift to the centres and potentially trying to stop speed machine Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow.
Front-rower Spencer Leniu has attracted plenty of attention leading into the first Origin game, with the local tabloid newspaper featuring a photo of him and the headline “Smash This Blues Grub” on Tuesday.
Spencer Leniu at Wednesday’s team walkCredit: Grant Trouville/NRL
But King, who is an assistant coach at the Sydney Roosters with Leniu, defended his player, saying: “I just want to make it very clear Spencer Leniu’s character is without question – he’s a very good man, very humble, and when he plays footy, we know he plays on the edge of the line.
“Spencer has done things in the past he’d like to have over. I’ve got every confidence tonight Spencer Leniu will play his game.
“We saw last year what he did in the blue jumper, the impact he had for us, the impact he had on Queensland, and we’re expecting nothing different.
“Spencer is a good man, everyone in our camp, everyone in our state backs him. We love him, and we can’t wait for him to go tonight.”
Payne Haas will also play, despite being troubled by his own quad injury, which has restricted his training time with the main group in camp.
Coach Laurie Daley is back at the helm after eight years, and looking to start his NSW second coming in style. The Blues won the decider in game three at Suncorp last year. NSW last won back-to-back games in the Queensland capital in 1997 and 1998.
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