Big call Daly Cherry-Evans has to make with State of Origin series on the line

Manly’s season has spiralled since Daly Cherry-Evans announced he was leaving at the end of the year. Now Queensland have followed suit and Cherry-Evans needs to do the right thing.

Not much fun being a Queenslander this week, particularly one living in NSW.

No time to dwell on defeat though because the Maroons need to find a way to level the series in Perth, a place that hasn’t exactly been a happy hunting ground for Queensland over the years.

The Maroons have been belted on their two previous trips to Optus Stadium. Absolutely flogged. That needs to change if Queensland coach Billy Slater is to send the series to a decider.

Given the gravity of the situation — heading to a graveyard with successive series defeats on the line — change should be in the wind.

Slater insisted personnel was not the issue, but the result in Origin I flattered Queensland and some subtle alterations wouldn’t hurt.

Canberra’s red-headed rogue Corey Horsburgh should be playing for an Origin spot this weekend. Maybe St George Illawarra back rower Jaydn Su’A as well.

It’s been a rough week for Daly Cherry-Evans (right) and Queensland. Picture: Getty Images

Certainly Brisbane’s powerhouse winger Selwyn Cobbo should come into consideration.

The most contentious call will revolve around captain Daly Cherry-Evans and I reckon he deserves another shot. Cherry-Evans has played 26 games for Queensland, including 20 straight stretching back for the last game of the 2018 series.

He didn’t have his best night on Wednesday, but who did? He should be given the opportunity to right the ship but he needs to help himself.

The first thing Cherry-Evans should do is put to bed the speculation over his future.

End the circus.

Cherry-Evans walked into Origin camp for Queensland with a spring in his step, but one of the first questions he was asked was what was happening next season.

Would he play on? If so, who with?

They are the same questions that have shadowed him for the past month or so, a period when his form has dipped along with that of his club.

Daly Cherry-Evans’ future with the Maroons is a hot topic. Picture: Getty Images

Manly’s season has spiralled since their skipper announced he was leaving at the end of the year. Now Queensland have followed suit and Cherry-Evans needs to do the right thing by himself and his state.

He needs to sit down with the Sydney Roosters, sort out his future and announce it to the world. Remove the albatross around his neck that has been weighing down himself and his club.

Then he needs to fire up for Manly and leave Slater with no choice but to pick him.

That said, if he makes the cut for Perth, it should be make or break for Cherry-Evans.

If they lose, the cord needs to be cut. Cherry-Evans has Tom Dearden nipping at his heels. Sam Walker may be back by then for the Sydney Roosters and while it is far too early to talk Origin, if he continues his trajectory he will be in the mix as early as next year.

NSW legend Andrew Johns rolled out a well-worn cliche after Queensland’s defeat in Origin I. Nobody beats Father Time, Johns said, in relation to Cherry-Evans.

He openly called for Dearden to take over in Origin II. Johns knows a thing or two about playing halfback. He may be the greatest No.7 the game has seen.

Even Johns though, would have struggled behind the Queensland forward pack the other night.

They were battered and beaten. Payne Haas rolled through them. So did Isaah Yeo. Angus Crichton ran for more metres than any Queensland forward.

Cherry-Evans never stood a chance. He played the whole night on the back foot.

He tried — they all did — but the Maroons were out-gunned in the middle of the park and it was a miracle they managed to stay in the game for as long as they did.

So Queensland changes need to start with a forward pack that was demolished in Brisbane by the inspired Blues. They need to work out how to limit the impact of Haas. Find a way to curb the threat of Yeo. Match the fire and aggression of Crichton.

It won’t matter who wears the No.7 jersey if that trio have the freedom of Optus Stadium, as they did in Brisbane. It was a stroll in the park for the Blues forwards.

Let’s sort that out first and then worry about the playmakers. There’s no doubt Father Time — and Dearden — are closing in on Cherry-Evans.

They shouldn’t get him yet though.

Daly Cherry-Evans art by Boo Bailey.

BIG STORM CALL LOOMS AFTER BELLAMY DECISION

Craig Bellamy is expected to confirm next week that he has one more season left in him at the helm of the Melbourne Storm.

Expect him to take a break after that, ending one of the most decorated head coaching careers of all time, leaving the Storm with 12 months to work out of a succession plan and identify their next head coach.

It may be the most important decision in their existence.

Craig Bellamy is set to make a big call on his future. Picture: Getty Images

Under Bellamy, Melbourne have become the benchmark in the NRL and while he will remain in a consultancy capacity, he won’t be the bloke pulling the strings any longer.

It will be someone else. Perhaps assistant coach Marc Brentnall, who has served a long apprenticeship at the Storm and has the respect of many of the key players.

Perhaps Storm powerbrokers can coax Billy Slater out of the commentary box and away from Queensland to take the reins. There are numerous coaches to emerge from the Bellamy coaching tree, all with connections to Melbourne.

It won’t be hard to find candidates given the quality of the club.

But the Storm need to get it right. You only have to look at another sporting juggernaut to see how things can go south when you get it wrong.

Manchester United have been a basket case for more than a decade, their descent stretching back to when Sir Alex Ferguson ended his long tenure at the helm of one of the biggest clubs in world football.

They have churned through managers in their search for a successor who can mirror Ferguson. Every misstep has been celebrated by their rivals. The hole just gets deeper.

The Storm are fortunate to have stable ownership, smart management and the steady hand of Frank Ponissi, who leads a football department that has been built to survive Bellamy’s departure.

Still, the head coach is the man with his hands on the tiller. Bellamy has been the best in the business for more than two decades and guided Melbourne through rocky waters.

It hasn’t always been smooth sailing but three premierships on his watch suggests Bellamy has usually had the right answers.

Originally published as Big call Daly Cherry-Evans has to make with State of Origin series on the line