NRL 2024: Will Origin III be Daly Cherry-Evans’ last game at representative level?
Only when he is gone will Queensland fans know what Daly Cherry-Evans brought to State of Origin football. The moment could be closer than we think, writes ROBERT CRADDOCK.
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Will this be Daly Cherry-Evans’ last hurrah?
Cherry-Evans will become one of the greatest leaders in interstate football if he celebrates his fourth State of Origin series win as captain against the Blues at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday week.
Few doubt that, even at age 35, he has the smarts and physical resilience to keep going next season.
The question is whether he would want to.
Don’t expect him to make an announcement on match night but it will be interesting to see early next year if Cherry-Evans is seduced by the prospect of playing for Manly only in the hope of snatching another premiership before he retires.
What a career it’s been. In the 14 seasons he has played for Manly, only once has the durable star played less than 20 games – and that was 19 back in 2016.
For Queensland he has been a wonderfully cool conjurer, captain and stabilising force, often the standout player in a win and the man who never stops trying in a loss.
When he first started his Origin career back in 2013, there was talk that senior players struggled to connect with him as a player because he ran across field too much. Then he was famously jeered on to Suncorp Stadium after withdrawing from a deal to join the Titans.
But he is now one of the team’s most popular and respected players among fans and will be missed in many ways when he is gone. His match-deciding field goal for Manly against the Cowboys on Saturday night has him entering Origin camp in a buoyant state of mind.
IT’S WAR
The third State of Origin match will be played against a backdrop of extreme tension between the states.
Retiring QRL chairman Bruce Hatcher has erupted that Queensland will have to dip into “rainy day funds’’ to pay for the three State of Origin camps due to a fallout with the Australian Rugby League commission over annual funding.
“It’s incredibly disappointing,’’ Hatcher said.
“We had to send our funding proposal for this year to them by last July and we did but we are still awaiting approval.
“I think it is quite pathetic, disrespectful and mean-spirited.
“If you had a group of sensible people in one room you could sort it out in six to eight hours but this is last July we are talking about and we are still getting queries about it.
“It is a good thing we have rainy day funds for something like this but it should never come to a situation like this.’’
The QRL were also upset that they were not officially acknowledged in an NRL press release sent out late last week when the game trumpeted its 200,000th participant.
“I could not believe the state leagues of Queensland and NSW were not specifically mentioned because of the 200,000 participants we have 190,000 between us. I’m not sure where they got the other 10,000 from.’’
QUEENSLAND TEAM OF THE WEEK
IN THEIR SIGHTS
Rumours that the Broncos are about to make a big play for Roosters halfback Sam Walker won’t go away. And nor should they.
The Broncos will field their fourth string halfback Josh Rogers against the Dragons this weekend with their top three – Adam Reynolds, Coby Black and Jock Madden – injured.
With Reynolds to retire at the end of next season the Broncos must throw the kitchen sink at Walker, whose father Ben and uncles Shane and Chris played for Brisbane.
If they miss out and he is retained by the Roosters so be it.
But it is inconceivable Brisbane will break their 18 year premiership drought without a top playmaker at the base of the scrum.
The Broncos were close to signing Walker as a 17-year-old. He postponed a final year exam at Ipswich Grammar School to meet with the Broncos but after having to pay $60 for an Uber ride to the meeting with Broncos officials he decided it was time to head south.
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