State of Origin 2018: DCE man with most to lose

Daly Cherry-Evans has the most to win and lose tonight.

Daly Cherry-Evans and Ben Hunt walk onto Suncorp Stadium yesterday. Picture: AAP.

A nice old bloke is standing next to the media scrum for Kevin Walters. His accreditation pass says Wally Lewis. He’s staring at the blades of grass on Suncorp Stadium as if he still knows them all by name. He reckons State of Origin III is a 50-50 proposition. He reckons it’s a crying shame that Greg Inglis is unavailable and he reckons Daly Cherry-Evans will go all right. He excuses himself and goes to greet another recognisable face. Lewis and Billy Slater’s missus are sitting together for Queensland’s final training session. There’s a couple of powerful figures for you.

Lewis watches Cherry-Evans closely. The Maroons halfback runs out in flash white boots. He grabs a ball. He spins it in his hands while listening to the measured words of Walters. Sermon over, he runs wide of his teammates, skims a kick towards the in-goal area and watches it go dead a la Ben Hunt in Origin II. The media is told to rack off after 10 minutes of training but Lewis, who earns a quid these days by reading the sport news on television, is allowed to stay.

It’s good to be the king.

Cherry-Evans has the most to win and lose tonight. Everything else has already been decided. The Blues have already won the series. The retiring Slater has already had an epic Origin career. The good-luck fairies have already deserted Walters and kissed the backside of Brad Fittler. The only real remaining mystery is Cherry-Evans. He’s on a deeply personal mission in 80 minutes of rugby league that will make or break him as a representative player. And he’s doing it while a whole lot of Queensland supporters hope he fails.

“He’s been awesome, DCE,” Walters says. “He’s a great fella. He’s a great Queenslander and I’m sure he’s going to put in a great performance in front of his home crowd. It’s very exciting for him. Maturity, leadership — all the things we’ve been looking for from DCE — I’m sure we’ll see exactly what he can do. Like every Queenslander, I’m really excited to see him back in the Maroons’ No. 7 and doing what he does best. And that’s playing footy at the highest level.”

It’s somewhat ridiculous to suggest every Queenslander is supporting Cherry-Evans. Letters to the sports editor of the Courier Mail have been death-riding him since the team announcement. “I’d be happy to lose the third game with Cherry-Evans,” says one letter. “It would be a win-win. Apparently if we lose he’ll never be picked again. Happy with that, not happy he got picked at all.” It’s been so vindictive north of the border that Walters’ brother, Steve, the Maroons team manager, is quoted as saying: “You expect this type of thing from people in NSW. The disappointing thing is that some of the criticism of Daly has come from Queensland … how did it get to this?”

Cherry-Evans has been on the nose because he’s a different personality? Um, anyone remember Cooper Cronk? Anyone been watching Fittler? They’re a couple of kooky cats who have been embraced because of their team’s successes. And Cherry-Evans has been painted a villain for ditching a contract with the Gold Coast Titans to make a fortune at Manly. He’s done the right thing by his children and wife. He’s given them financial security for all their living days rather than going through with a deal with a footy club. The bastard, eh? Asked what he wants from Cherry-Evans tonight, Walters says: “We just want DCE to be DCE. He’s a great ballrunner. He’s a good organiser. He’s a tough defender, as well. I think at his last opportunity in 2015, he brought an injured shoulder into the game … he’s a lot more mature now. We just want him to do what he’s been doing every week for Manly. Same colour jersey, just a different style. I’m excited for him in many ways. He’s got his opportunity. He’s matured as a footballer and we’ll see that maturity in the game.”

Hunt has made no secret of his frustration at being dumped back to the bench so Cherry-Evans can start. “And rightly so,” Walters says. “We want him to be disappointed. Ben has different skills that he brings to the team. He may play dummy-half tomorrow night. He may spend some time in the middle just as a roving type of player. We’ll have to wait and see how the game develops but he’ll get plenty of match time. He’s a player who’s comfortable at this level and again he’ll show everyone what his skills are what he can do at this level.”

Walters adds: “Ben wants to be part of this group. I know he can add some great stuff. He’s got some great skills and he’s a tough little bugger. He’s very hard to handle. Wherever we play him, he’s going to stand up for us. He’ll be a good part of the mix that will be a Queensland win tomorrow night.”

While the media is being herded out of this magnificent stadium, Cherry-Evans puts another flash white boot to the ball. Hunt, of course, has been dropped after his grubber kick from hell in Origin II. His replacement is practising the same deft skill whenever he gets the chance. He delivers this second kick towards the in-goal and this time it sits up as if he’s had it on remote control. Cherry-Evans has missed one and he’s made one. The nice old bloke from Channel 9 has been correctomondo. Everything’s 50-50.