Daley wants ‘Latrell to be Latrell’ in Origin

Laurie Daley wants “Latrell to be Latrell”, and said he was always going to be one of the first picked for NSW if he was fit.

“You don’t have too many game-breakers like him,” Daley said of Latrell Mitchell.

“When I spoke to Latrell last night, he just gave me confidence because the sound in his voice, he was very upbeat, and I’m sure he’ll be in for a big game.

“We all know what he’s capable of doing. Obviously, we’re looking for Latrell to be Latrell, and in this environment he will be.

“The thing about him is he’s in a really good headspace, he’s really confident, so we’ll provide the space for him to be himself. He wants to be a part of this team. And we all know what he does and brings.

“I’m just excited to be back working with him, I worked with him as number of years in the Indigenous side. He’s a good fella, and we’ll get the best out of him.”

Latrell Mitchell was unstoppable in game two last year.Credit: Getty Images

Mitchell was a powerhouse in game two last year at left centre, missed game three with a foot injury, and was absent from the two previous series because of hamstring and calf injuries.

Queensland have taken a punt on Roosters rookie Rob Toia to play right centre – directly opposite Mitchell next Wednesday night – but the praise Daley’s attacking coach, Matt King, who is a part of Trent Robinson’s team at the Chooks, meant there was no way they would take the newcomer lightly.

Daley, back at the Blues’ helm for the first time since 2017, looked relaxed on a cool Monday morning at Sydney Olympic Park as his players began to gather in camp.

Two notable omissions were Wests Tigers prop Terrell May and Manly’s Tom Trbojevic – but Daley was straight to the point about why that pair would not face Queensland this time around.

“I just think the other [forwards] are playing better than Terrell May,” Daley said. “[As for Trbojevic], everyone agrees Tom, if he’s fit, is one of the best players in the game. It was a tough decision.

“Tom needs to go back and play some good football and be confident. I’ve got no doubt Tommy will be back in this arena at some point. It’s always a tough decision, but the guys we’ve got will play well.”

In other selection news, Daley revealed:

• Mitchell Moses’ kicking game gave him the edge over Jarome Luai for the No. 6 jersey. Daley said, “You can have a poor set, but you can get away with it if your kick is strong”;
• Nathan Cleary would be given permission to roam, including playing on the left side of the field and switching Moses to the right, as reported by this masthead on Sunday;
• And that Stephen Crichton had been playing with a groin injury for a few weeks and would be monitored at training, but is all but certain to play.

Daley said the Blues would need to improve on last year’s epic performance if they were to win back-to-back games at Suncorp Stadium, something they have not done since 1997 and 1998.

When asked if he hated Queensland, Daley smiled and said: “Hate is a strong word. I respect Queensland. I think they’re well coached, they have a great team, whoever they’ve selected will go out there and be ready. We need to be better than what we were last year. And we will be.”

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