Daly Cherry-Evans mounts case for Maroons No.6 jersey, but do Queenslanders want him?
POLL: Daly Cherry-Evans is mounting a case to make the Maroons No.6 his own after another match-winning display for the Sea Eagles. The question is: Do Queenslanders want him?
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ARE Queenslanders ready to forgive Daly Cherry-Evans?
That is the question confronting Maroons coach Kevin Walters as he begins planning to rebuild his team for the Origin decider at Suncorp Stadium on July 12.
With Johnathan Thurston and Darius Boyd now joining an all-star cast of Maroons on the injured list, Walters is looking around for options at five-eighth and centre.
Without a doubt, the most contentious of them is finding the right person to fill the most famous State of Origin jersey of them all – the Maroon No.6.
Worn with distinction by Wally Lewis, Walters, Thurston and Darren Lockyer, the Queensland No. 6 will have its third occupant in as many matches with Thurston and Anthony Milford both out with injury.
Cherry-Evans, the Manly skipper, is mounting a pressing case on the field to make the jersey his own after another match-winning display for the Sea Eagles on the weekend.
The question is: Do Queenslanders want him there?
DCE became an enemy of the state after his cold-hearted contract backflip on the Titans left the Gold Coast in the lurch.
Queenslanders don’t like it when people mess with Queenslanders – even when it is another Queenslander.
Since reneging on his Titans deal, Cherry-Evans has been booed every time he has stepped foot onto a footy field in Queensland.
There are also rumblings that Cherry-Evans’s personality is at odds with the Maroons team culture, and he is not on the best terms with senior members of the Queensland playing group.
Also counting against him is history.
When DCE has been given a chance in the playmaking role for the Maroons, Queensland has invariably struggled because Cherry-Evans’ lateral style of play does not sit with the more direct style of football used by the Maroons.
But Queensland is running short on options and DCE’s form is getting too hot to ignore.
So, have Queenslanders forgiven DCE? Would they be prepared to cheer the Cherry-Evans in the maroon of Queensland, even though they boo him in the maroon of Manly?
We thought the best way to find out was to ask Queenslanders directly: Have you forgiven Daly Cherry-Evans and should he be picked for the Maroons?
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