Former Maroons captain Daly Cherry-Evans stopped short of announcing his official retirement from the State of Origin arena, but the veteran halfback has thrown his full support behind incumbents Cameron Munster and Tom Dearden to do the job again this year.<\/p>\n
Cherry-Evans played 26 games for his state and captained them in the 2025 series opener, but he was sensationally dropped after the loss at Suncorp Stadium which saw Dearden brought in to start and Munster promoted to lead the side.<\/p>\n
The halves led Queensland to a famous series win, with Dearden claiming the Wally Lewis Medal as the best player.<\/p>\n
Cherry-Evans, 37, is still theoretically available for this year\u2019s series, but the Roosters playmaker concedes the incumbents deserve first crack even though they\u2019ve both had their struggles at club level. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m never going to be that guy that just comes out and retires, but I\u2019m very comfortable with the side that they picked last year to win the series in the back end,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cTom Dearden and Cam Munster, there\u2019s absolutely no doubt in my mind that they\u2019re Queensland\u2019s best options going forward. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf something ever happened moving down the track, you just keep your options open, and it\u2019d be bloody hard to say no to a Queensland jersey again. But I\u2019m quite clear that I\u2019m not their best option right now and I\u2019m OK with that.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really hard to talk about yourself when it comes to what you\u2019ve done. I\u2019m still playing, so I\u2019ve got nothing but great memories of State of Origin. If I got another chance, that\u2019d be great, but if not, that\u2019s also OK. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just having that acceptance of the reality of where we\u2019re at right now and where I\u2019m at. That\u2019s fine with me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to continue to work really hard on my game and try and get the Roosters to keep winning footy games and have a strong input in that. But where it is right now, I completely understand it and accept it, and that\u2019s OK. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf I\u2019m not picked, that\u2019s fine, I\u2019ll be watching at home cheering for Queensland.\u201d<\/p>\n
Queensland coach Billy Slater made the tough call to drop Cherry-Evans \u2013 a man he played alongside for the Maroons \u2013 and was thrilled to see him enjoying his footy again after last year\u2019s shock exit from Manly. <\/p>\n
An Origin return seems highly unlikely, with Roosters halfback Sam Walker and Broncos five-eighth Ezra Mam in the mix for the Queensland side. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been great. It\u2019s good to see him enjoying his footy. He said he needed a fresh start, and he\u2019s got that,\u201d Slater said at the MCG on Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s the oldest player in our game and he\u2019s doing a wonderful job. I\u2019ve spoken to him a couple of times at games, and it\u2019s good to see him putting some games together.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was always going to take some time with Sammy Walker and \u2018Chez\u2019 being quite similar players, but they\u2019re making it work. They\u2019ve got a good roster at the Roosters, so the more they play together, the better they\u2019re going to get. That\u2019s dangerous for the rest of the competition.\u201d<\/p>\n