{"id":710295,"date":"2026-06-02T11:52:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T11:52:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/710295\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T11:52:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T11:52:18","slug":"nrl-2026-state-of-origin-team-selections-mitchell-moses-parramatta-eels-laurie-daley-ethan-strange-news-videos-highlights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/710295\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL 2026: State of Origin team selections, Mitchell Moses, Parramatta Eels, Laurie Daley, Ethan Strange, news, videos, highlights"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mitchell Moses\u2019 absence from the Eels\u2019 team list in Round 14 due to \u201cprecautionary reasons\u201d has thrown a curveball into Laurie Daley\u2019s selection calculations.<\/p>\n

Moses was ruled out of the Origin series opener after suffering a hamstring injury in training, with Ethan Strange slotting into his No.6 jersey and delivering.<\/p>\n

He scored a try, had another denied and was immense in defence \u2014 handing NSW a huge selection headache, which only got worse when Parramatta unveiled their team on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Eels are saying that Mitch is being rested for this game for precautionary reasons, it\u2019s not a new injury,\u201d The Daily Telegraph\u2019s David Riccio said on NRL360.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe just does not want to risk the potential of reinsuring… I don\u2019t know (whose call it is). You\u2019d think it is done in conjunction.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut as far as Laurie taking him into camp, it\u2019s going to be the Blues call. I anticipate he will, I reckon he will… and makes a call next week.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now Moses won\u2019t take the field before the second game of the Origin series, and a win in that clash could secure a series-victory for Daley\u2019s side.<\/p>\n

However, the Eels losing their most important player potentially to be rested for Origin shapes as a huge blow, according to Fox League\u2019s Paul Crawley.<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually find it a significant question, is it his call or the club\u2019s call? We were led to believe when he pulled out of Origin I, that he\u2019d be back now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou look at Parramatta\u2019s season from a club perspective, as the leader of that footy team where they might not have a hope in the world of playing finals this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut gee it\u2019s a long way out to be resting a bloke that crucial to that team if he could have been on the field this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n

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But Moses sitting out means one thing, according to NRL360 host Braith Anasta.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat it tells us is that, we have heard that Laurie is most likely going to pick him, but it tells us that he is definitely the six for NSW,\u201d Anasta said.<\/p>\n

Reports have surfaced suggesting Moses will be spearheaded back into the No.6 jersey \u2014 but not everyone was certain that is the right call.<\/p>\n

\u201cEthan Strange,\u201d Crawley said, when asked who should start for the Blues.<\/p>\n

\u201cMitchell Moses is a quality Origin playmaker, he is one of the best playmakers in the game today. But you know what, I haven\u2019t seen that this year from Mitchell Moses.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has played eight games, and I haven\u2019t seen his best. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut with the way Ethan Strange is playing at the moment, his performance the other night was extraordinary when you level it up against anything in Origin history.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen he goes out on the weekend and he does it for the Raiders. (Billy Slater) would rather Moses.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Riccio wasn\u2019t sold and believed a sold out MCG crowd could get the better of Strange who has only a single Origin appearance under his belt.<\/p>\n

Get all the latest NRL news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!!<\/a><\/p>\n

Watson signs with Chiefs in 2028 | 00:35<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you think the Blues could have used Mitchell Moses’ kicking game in the first half when they were constantly on the back foot?\u201d Riccio said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the kicking game, you know what you\u2019re getting… you go with experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anasta, meanwhile, had no envy for Daley who has an incredibly hard decision looming.<\/p>\n

\u201cLaurie would have spoken about it, running five-eighths suit Origin football. Strange is aggressive, he\u2019s reliable, he makes his tackles,\u201d Anasta said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis running game is enormous, it\u2019s simple. That\u2019s what you want and then you let Nathan take control and dominate. <\/p>\n

\u201cI reiterate, 67 per cent success rate for Moses. He partners Cleary, they have played once together and won once.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard not to pick him, but it\u2019s also bloody hard not to keep Strange in that position.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mitchell Moses\u2019 absence from the Eels\u2019 team list in Round 14 due to \u201cprecautionary reasons\u201d has thrown a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":710296,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-710295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/710295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=710295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/710295\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/710296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=710295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=710295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=710295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}