State of Origin game 3: Daly Cherry-Evans says defeat is the most painful he’s experienced

Shattered Maroons skipper Daly Cherry-Evans says he cannot remember any defeat that hurts as much as the Origin decider and is punishing himself for one thing in particular.

Shattered Maroons skipper Daly Cherry-Evans has spoken of his regret at not attempting the field goal that could have made him a captaincy hero and brought the Origin shield back to Queensland.

With 90 seconds remaining and scores locked at 20-all, Cherry-Evans set himself for a series-winning one-pointer 35 metres out, only to change his mind after NSW hooker Damien Cook rushed him into a hurried high kick.

Replays showed Queensland utility Moses Mbye wasting at least three seconds in the lead-up arguing with the referees for a penalty, soaking up crucial time as Cherry-Evans waited for his moment to strike.

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Daly Cherry-Evans was shattered after the decider came to an end

The Blues ultimately defused Cherry-Evans’ ineffective kick and raced 95 metres to drive a dagger into the Maroons and leave the Queensland captain ruing his decision not to roll the dice with a field-goal attempt.

Cherry-Evans is one of the NRL’s most lethal field-goal exponents, having landed 19 one-pointers in his career, including several to win golden-point thrillers.

“Hindsight is a wonderful thing ... but the shot that I didn’t take will be the one I always regret,” he said.

“I certainly had intentions to have a shot at field goal as the set unfolded.

“I was planning for it, but when the play-the-ball slowed up, it was going to be too much pressure on me and I wasn’t going to get that clean shot that I wanted.

“Had I missed it, there would have been enough time for them to go down the field and they ended up scoring anyway.

A shattered Daly Cherry-Evans’ face said it all

“I honestly can’t tell you if I had enough time to have a shot, but judging by the kick I got away, I felt they rushed up on me pretty quickly.

“Had I taken a field goal ... I wouldn’t have got a clean shot away.

“I guess there are regrets but you have to back your judgment in the heat of battle and backing our defence to hold NSW out was the right thing at the time.”

Cherry-Evans has been an outstanding leader in his first series as captain and his heartbreak in the Queensland sheds was palpable.

As he reflected on NSW fullback James Tedesco’s last-minute match-winner, Cherry-Evans was barely able to finish his sentence. Tears welled in his eyes as he tried to digest the pain of Queensland’s second consecutive series loss.

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“I feel like the rest of Queensland, I’m shattered, really shattered,” he said, fighting back tears.

“I can’t remember losing a game and it hurting this much. It’s hard to talk about it. Call me a big sook, but I’m so competitive. It sucks.

“It’s a hard to explain how I felt watching him (Tedesco) score.

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“You can’t believe it is happening. When he fell over the line, it was like time stood still. It was a really blank, dull moment, it’s hard to put an emotion around it, but once they awarded the try, it just broke my heart.”

Despite the setback, Cherry-Evans is adamant Queensland can prevent a NSW dynasty next season.

“We will learn from this and when we get it all right, I truly believe it will turn back around for Queensland,” he said.

“Every single person that wears this Queensland jersey is proud to put it on and I’m the lucky guy that gets to lead them out.

“I have the best job in the world captaining Queensland and even losing a game in that way, I’m still proud of what I am and the team I get to lead out.”