Nathan Cleary will be given a licence to roam in Origin I as NSW coach Laurie Daley considers playing two genuine halfbacks in the series opener.
Daley also insists he will not ask Blues coaching advisor Craig Bellamy how to stop Storm pair Cameron Munster and Harry Grant, who loom as Queensland’s main danger men.
The NSW team will be finalised on Sunday night, with Daley to phone players after the 6.15pm Wests Tigers-South Sydney game.
Blues hopefuls Mitchell Moses, Zac Lomax, Stephen Crichton, Angus Crichton and Max King all survived Friday night’s games. Stephen Crichton was charged with dangerous contact by the match review committee, but can escape with an early guilty plea and a $3000 fine.
Daley planned to Saturday watching the NRL games, and in particular the Trbojevic brothers, Tom and Jake, playing for Manly against Reece Robson’s North Queensland.
One of the coach’s biggest selection headaches will be whether to partner Cleary with Parramatta’s Moses, or his four-time premiership-winning five-eighth mate Jarome Luai, who left Penrith for the Tigers at the end of last year.
MItchell Moses tries to stop Nathan Cleary during the 2022 grand final. Could they play together in Origin I?Credit: Getty Images
Daley played down any concerns about Moses having to play second fiddle to Cleary, despite being the dominant playmaker at Parramatta. He also said Moses was more than capable of playing on the left side for NSW, rather than his preferred right side for his club.
“Nathan will be the dominant half, and whoever we go with at No.6, they’ll be in that support role,” Daley said on Saturday. “Mitch was a five-eighth in his junior years, and there’s no reason he can’t do it.
“What I can tell you is Nathan will be given the chance to roam. That final 20 minutes in the [2023] grand final, Nathan played his best game, and he spent the majority of time on the left side of the field. He also did it again at Magic Round a couple of weeks ago when he tore the Broncos apart.
“Either way, I’ve got no doubts the Cleary and Moses combination will work. I also know the Cleary and Luai combination has already worked, with those two enjoying success at all levels.”
Laurie Daley says he won’t ask Blues advisor Craig Bellamy for any pointers on how to stop Queensland pair Harry Grant and Cam Munster.Credit: Getty, Fairfax
For the first time in a long time, a club coach will be directly involved with an Origin team, with Bellamy forming part of the Blues’ brains trust along with attacking coach Matt King and defensive coaches Brett White and Dean Young.
Four-time premiership-winning coach Ivan Cleary sat with Brad Fittler in the coaches box for game three in 2023, which was a dead rubber, and did not feature any Panthers players in the Queensland side.
Bellamy spent three years as NSW coach from 2008-2010, but even his inside knowledge of several key Maroons including Storm legends Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Greg Inglis was unable to win him a series.
Daley said he had no interest in asking Bellamy for insights on hooker Grant and five-eighth Munster.
“I’m blessed to have Craig, and while he would probably help me if I asked him about those two guys, I wouldn’t do it to him,” Daley said.
“Craig’s job is not about tactics or anything like that. He’ll give us feedback and suggestions, he’ll look at our messaging, the way we’ve conducted training, and what we’re putting into training. He’ll basically be in charge of us coaches. He’ll have nothing to do with the game plan.
I’d like to think I already know what Harry and Cam’s weaknesses are. They don’t have many. Either way, I won’t be asking Craig.”
NSW hopefuls Ryan Papenhuyzen and Stefano Utoikamanu are due to play for the Storm against Cronulla on Saturday night, while Sunday features the last of the NSW chances, including New Zealand’s Mitch Barnett, Canberra’s Hudson Young, South Sydney’s Latrell Mitchell and Campbell Graham, and Tigers’ duo Luai and Terrell May.
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