Daly Cherry-Evans is primed to destroy New South Wales and lead Queensland to Origin glory

Daly Cherry-Evans is in the form of his life and the newly minted Queensland skipper is primed to destroy New South Wales and secure the Origin series.

Daly Cherry-Evans, captain of Queensland is seen posing for a photograph at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre in Perth, Friday, June 21, 2019. New South Wales are playing Queensland in the 2nd State of Origin match in Perth on Sunday. (AAP Image/Darren England) NO ARCHIVING,

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Maroons skipper Daly Cherry-Evans says he is ready to “dream big” by putting New South Wales to the sword on Sunday night and bringing the Origin shield back to Queensland.

Queensland coach Kevin Walters has already turned up the heat on the Blues by declaring he expects to win Origin II and his captain is primed for the game of his life to finish off NSW at Perth’s Optus Stadium.

The Maroons will run out for State of Origin’s debut in Western Australia aware of the daunting statistic that they have never won a series decider on Sydney soil in the concept’s 39-year history.

Buoyed by Queensland’s 18-14 win in Game One, Cherry-Evans is keen to put an exclamation mark on his debut series as Maroons skipper by reclaiming the Origin shield from Brad Fittler’s Blues.

Cherry-Evans is one win away from an Origin series victory. AAP Image/Darren England.

“Once you are put in a position of captaincy, you certainly dream big,” Cherry-Evans said.

“There are moments in your career where you don’t set out at the very start (to achieve certain goals), but I dream of holding that shield up.

“I’m lucky enough to go out there with 16 other players and potentially have that opportunity.

“We understand what is on the line as a side, we are excited about that and we can’t wait to get out there.

“It’s a great opportunity for our state and for the Queensland side and we are looking to take advantage of that.”

Cherry-Evans dismissed concerns about his fitness for his ninth Origin game and second match in charge.

The 30-year-old missed training on Wednesday not due to his recently-operated ankle, but rather some shoulder soreness following Manly’s defeat of the Dragons last Sunday.

Who will come out on top? AAP Image/Darren England.

But Cherry-Evans trained on Thursday and will run again on Saturday at the captain’s run to eliminate any concerns over his physical state for Queensland’s shot at Origin supremacy.

“I pulled up a bit sore from the Manly game on the weekend,” he said.

“I’m sure I’m not the only one who did carry a few niggles into this camp, but I got that extra day off which was fantastic.

“I bounced through training (on Thursday) and feel great now so I’m really excited about the way I feel and the game this weekend.”

The Blues have made a whopping seven changes, giving Cherry-Evans the belief the Maroons are a more settled team as their spine looks to apply more playmaking polish in Perth.

“Continuity on a short turnaround is something that you all want,” he said.

The next time the captains meet will be on the field. Picture by Adam Head.

“To some degree we have more (continuity) than them when it comes to that, so hopefully that plays to our advantage, but we won’t be relying on that come Sunday.

“We need to make sure we are relying on hard work and there has certainly been a lot of belief so far in camp.

“When you use that word ‘clunky’ when it comes to a footy, it’s about passes not finding their mark and players not being in position.

“That opportunity to fix that has certainly been addressed.

“I’d like to think we will be better, not just me as an individual but collectively as a team.”