Jarome Luai will partner Nathan Cleary in the halves for NSW after injury to playmaker Mitch Moses

The path to a State of Origin series win for NSW has been muddied by a calf injury to a superstar playmaker ruling him out of game two.

NSW coach Laurie Daley is backing Jarome Luai’s combination with Nathan Cleary to get the job done next week after the Blues were dealt a massive blow with five-eighth Mitch Moses ruled out with a calf injury six days out from the second State of Origin match.

Moses went down at training in the Blue Mountains during an attacking drill down the short side, with the Eels star sent for scans and immediately ruled out after an encouraging performance alongside Cleary in the series-opening win.

The Blues could have picked Matt Burton, but the Bulldogs five-eighth will remain 18th man with Daley turning to Luai who got the call after Wests Tigers training and is expected to join his teammates in Leura on Thursday night.

“It’s terrible, isn’t it,” Daley said of the injury to Moses.

Mitchell Moses injured his calf at NSW training in the Blue Mountains. Picture: Rohan Kelly

“Mitch played really well in game one and started off looking really good this week, but he injured his calf today.

“We’re unsure of how bad it is, but he won’t be any good for Wednesday with the short turnaround so we’ve had to rule him out.”

Losing a key member of the spine just days out from a big clash is generally catastrophic for representative teams, but that’s not the case when the guy coming in was part of last year’s winning squad and has played with Cleary for the past decade.

The pair were enemies just last week for the first time at NRL level, but Penrith’s premiership duo will reunite and look to deliver like they’ve done in so many big games before.

“He’s won four grand finals and he won the Origin series last year so I think that everyone will have a lot of confidence and faith in him,” Daley said, with Cleary and Luai to start in the halves for NSW for the first time since game one of 2023.

“I don’t know Jarome that well, but I think he’d believe in himself as well that he could come in on short notice and do the job.

Jarome Luai will replace Moses as NSW No.6. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

“There’ll only be a couple of training sessions, but the fact that he’s played with that left edge last year is an advantage for us. It’s not like you’re bringing in someone who hasn’t played with those players.

“I’m disappointed for Mitch, but I’m excited for Jarome.”

Winger Brian To’o is on track to play next Wednesday but will need to get through Saturday’s main session in Sydney unscathed before the team flies out to Perth.

Injury setbacks can rattle coaches, but Daley looked calm on the outside as he backed his side to move on from the drama.

“It’s a funny game, rugby league. With the group of guys that you’ve got, you’ve got to make sure that they’re prepared really well,” he said.

“We’ve had setbacks and challenges all the way through the campaign so far, but I’d be disappointed if the fact that we lost a guy six days out and we couldn’t cope with that.

“I think the guys are very professional. It’s not like we’re bringing in a rookie; we’re bringing in a guy who has won Origin series before and won four grand finals so he knows what he’s doing.”

Originally published as Jarome Luai will partner Nathan Cleary in the halves for NSW after injury to playmaker Mitch Moses