Queensland set to put it all on the line in the must-win game.
Queensland could name star injured playmaker Daly Cherry-Evans for State of Origin II without a minute of preparation time under his belt ahead of tackling the NSW in Sydney on Wednesday.
Cherry-Evans has quickly become the focus of the Maroons injury ward as Greg Inglis and Billy Slater have firmed in their bid to play with Will Chambers and Willie Tonga released to play with their respective clubs.
The Manly star has been battling a knee injury and has not run with the rest of the QLD side at all in their preparation, with Brisbane’s Ben Hunt waiting in the wings to make his Origin debut if Cherry-Evans is ruled out.
When that will happen it a matter for conjecture.
Maroons captain Cameron Smith wanted the halfback to train with the side on Tuesday, just in time for the game itself.
However, coach Mal Meninga could delay naming his starting side until the day of the game to allow Cherry-Evans as much time as possible to get his body right for what is set to be another brutal clash with New South Wales.
“We’re still unsure on Daly, he has done a fair bit of running through the week but hasn’t been able to train with the team yet,” Smith said.
“I think Mal is going to give him up until Wednesday morning to prove his fitness.
But we’ve had Benny Hunt train with us all week and has trained extremely well.
“We’d like to see DCE there but if he is unavailable I’m pretty sure Ben Hunt will do a good job for us.
“Yeah it is a gamble but Daly has been present at all of our sessions and been watching on.
“It would’ve been nice to have him involved in a lot of them but I think he’s got a bit of work to do today and we will see how he pulls up tomorrow then really it’s up to him.”
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