Former Queensland captain Cameron Smith has predicted his successor Daly Cherry-Evans to fire in Sunday’s sold out State of Origin II in Perth – and “misery” for NSW.
Nursing a shoulder complaint and a tender ankle, skipper Cherry-Evans has been given the green light by Maroons coach Kevin Walters for game two which is officially a sell out.
The Queensland mentor also dismissed all their other injury concerns, saying centre Dane Gagai (virus), fullback Kalyn Ponga (calf) and prop Dylan Napa (broken wrist) were guaranteed starters.
Cherry-Evans played his first game in five weeks after ankle surgery in Queensland’s 18-14 game one victory in Brisbane.
His ankle has been nursed through Origin II training while it has also been revealed Cherry-Evans has been battling a shoulder issue.
Smith – who played a record 42 Origins – admitted Cherry-Evans did not look fully fit in game one but predicted big things from the playmaker on Sunday.
“I thought he led the team around beautifully, especially coming off a severe ankle injury,” Smith said in Perth on Friday.
“But when I was watching the game I was thinking ‘I don’t think he is 100 per cent right’ – he wasn’t himself.
“So he will be even better (in game two). I think we will see more of a running game on Sunday.
“The ankle will be a lot better. I think that spells more misery for the Blues.”
Walters played down their injury concerns despite Gagai being quarantined from his teammates earlier this week.
“He was in bed for a couple of days but he trained strongly on Thursday – he’ll be right for Sunday,” he said.
“He’s been such a great Origin player with 11 tries in 11 games and wants to add to that tally on Sunday.
Walters said he no problem starting Napa despite his fracture which will be heavily strapped in game two.
“We put him through some tough tests in the last couple of days, and he’s a tough character,” he said.
“He is looking forward to starting the game. A fit and firing Dylan is exactly what Queensland needs to get us out of the blocks.”
Ponga raised eyebrows when he left training late on Thursday to receive treatment for his quad but Walters said it was simply a precaution.
“He has played a lot of football this year so we pulled him out as a precaution,” he said.
“We are being very careful with him around his training.”