Daly Cherry-Evans promises to win Queensland over with victory in Origin III

DALY Cherry-Evans knows plenty of Queenslanders opposed his Origin return but he’s certain he can win the Maroons fans over with victory in Game III.

Maroons player Daly Cherry-Evans poses for a photo during a Queensland Maroons media opportunity at Sanctuary Cove resort on the Gold Coast, July 4, 2018. (AAP Image/Jono Searle) NO ARCHIVING

DALY Cherry-Evans has vowed to win over the Queensland public after furious fans yesterday used the Maroons’ own social-media forum to savage his recall for Origin III.

In a candid interview with The Courier-Mail, Cherry-Evans declared he wants to win for the fans and hopes he isn’t booed by his fellow Queenslanders when he runs onto Suncorp Stadium this Wednesday night.

Cherry-Evans’ selection as Queensland halfback for the Suncorp dead-rubber has sensationally divided the state’s millions of rugby league fans.

The backlash has spilt onto the Maroons’ official Facebook page, with some Queensland supporters labelling Cherry-Evans an “egomaniac” and lashing him for reneging on his Titans deal three years ago.

LISTEN! Nick Campton and Tim Williams hash out all the details of Origin III, ask who has the most to gain from the dead rubber and wonder if Penrith’s season is on the ropes.

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Other fans backed Cherry-Evans, applauding Queensland coach Kevin Walters for ending the Manly skipper’s three-year exile from the Origin team.

Cherry-Evans is crucial to Queensland’s hopes of avoiding a 3-0 series rout and he is determined to show Queenslanders his true colours by engineering a Maroons victory in Origin III.

“I’ll be completely honest — I know a win in a Queensland jersey will help right a lot of those wrongs,” Cherry-Evans said.

“I will never be able to change the situation that happened with myself and the Gold Coast.

“At the end of the day, I can’t change it, I can’t dwell on it and I can only hope the performance I put in for Queensland next week gets the fans to understand how much this state and the jersey means to me.

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“I hope the fans can see that regardless of what’s happened in the past, I will represent them and the state with pride.

“When you play rep footy, you represent more than just yourself. Origin is a very special game and the little details matter to me.

“Seeing your surname on the jumper … it shows you are representing your family and I don’t want to let the Queensland people down.

“I hope my effort next week shows the people how proud I am to be out there.”

Cherry-Evans was famously booed by Broncos fans at Suncorp when he ran out for Manly in 2015, but he hopes wearing a different shade of Maroon this Wednesday night will shift public sentiment in his favour.

“I will never forget the moment I was booed running onto Suncorp Stadium,” he said with a laugh.

Cherry-Evans will make his Origin return in Game III. AAP Image/Jono Searle.

“Being booed by my fellow Queenslanders is not ideal, but at the end of the day I was the enemy that day playing for Manly against the Broncos.

“I certainly don’t have any bad blood towards the fans over that. I’d like to think with the jersey I have on my back this week, the Queensland fans will cheer me next Wednesday night, not boo me.

“I know I’ll be trying to put in a performance everyone can be proud of.”

Maroons teammate Josh Papalii made his Origin debut on the same night as Cherry-Evans in Game Two of the 2013 series.

The Queensland hitman backed the classy halfback to succeed.

“Daly is a great player,” Papalii said. “I made my Origin debut with him and people can say what they want about Daly, but as teammates we are right behind him.”

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