![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/poster-fallback.png\"\/)
<\/p>\n
WHAT’S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.<\/p>\n
Yet it was the Roosters powerhouse winger \u2014 who scored a hattrick in his return from injury against the Raiders on the weekend \u2014 who was a late inclusion into Blues camp on Sunday night following the shock injury withdrawal of Stephen Crichton.<\/a><\/p>\n Make no mistake, it is a decision that is sure to divide many Blues fans given Nawaqanitawase has already made the call that he will be switching back to rugby union next season.<\/p>\n I would have gone with the Bulldogs\u2019 tackle busting winger Jacob Kiraz if he was fit to play.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been reported Kiraz was mentioned in discussions but there was a concern over him battling injury in recent weeks.<\/p>\n FOLLOW LIVE AS LAURIE DALEY CONFIRMS BLUES STARTING SIDE<\/a><\/p>\n Where this is confusing is that at least Kiraz played on Monday in the Bulldogs\u2019 win over Parramatta.<\/p>\n But Mitchell Moses was again sidelined for this game.<\/p>\n The other standout option to replace Crichton would have been young Dolphins flyer Jack Bostock to come in on the extended bench and get a taste of what Origin is all about for the years ahead.<\/p>\n Maybe I am just being a bit old fashioned declaring an allegiance to loyalty over the modern-day mercenary.<\/p>\n READ MORE<\/p>\n QLD\u2019s \u2018worrying\u2019 fullback warning; unluckiest star to miss out: Origin Winners and Losers<\/a> know I\u2019m gay\u2019: Ex-NRL enforcer comes out in emotional interview<\/a> Mark Nawaqanitawase is off to rugby but just got a Blues call-up.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n But that\u2019s just how I see it.<\/p>\n Others will argue that Nawaqanitawase has the potential to be a match winner for the Blues _\u2014 and would also back Daley to rush him straight into the starting team to play on the wing over either Tolu Koula or Casey McLean (who are both specialist centres at club level).<\/p>\n I\u2019d like to think McLean\u2019s exceptional form for the Panthers this season would have him in the box seat to start at left centre regardless.<\/p>\n The other concern about Nawaqanitawase is that for all the freaky things he can do in the blink of an eye, he still has more than a few errors in his game that Billy Slater no doubt will be working overtime to expose if he does ultimately get on the field.<\/p>\n It should also be pointed out that Nawaqanitawase was off contract at the end of this year and so was not doing a Zac Lomax by trying to exploit a back door exit while still locked up to an NRL deal.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, that still doesn\u2019t change my opinion that the opportunity should have gone to a player who was committed to rugby league for the long haul.<\/p>\n Instead it now has the potential to turn this into another Joseph Suaalii marketing circus that rugby union can dine out on down the track.<\/p>\n Slater recalls for Walsh for Game II | 02:22<\/p>\n MOSES GAMBLE COULD BACKFIRE BADLY ON THE BLUES<\/p>\n Now to the other NSW decision that I am still struggling to comprehend \u2014 putting Moses in the starting team over Ethan Strange.<\/p>\n Why would you pick a player who hasn\u2019t played for 30 plus days because of his dodgy hamstring and rush him straight back into your starting team?<\/p>\n Especially when the player who is being shifted\/shafted back to the bench was arguably the Blues\u2019 best in game one?<\/p>\n We are about to find out if Daley has made a selection call for the ages \u2014 or one of the biggest blunders in Origin history.<\/p>\n While Moses is expected to be given until Thursday to be up and running with the team, even the fact he is obviously not 100 per cent right now going into camp surely must be some sort of concern going forward after his shock late withdrawal for game one.<\/p>\n It means Moses heads into Origin II having not played a game in more than a month, after he also missed Parramatta\u2019s loss to Canterbury on Monday.<\/p>\n It also raises an important question if there was really enough evidence to justify changing a winning combination?<\/p>\n Strange didn\u2019t just survive his Origin debut, it was one of the best debuts we have seen in the toughest rugby league arena of them all.<\/p>\n But whether you agree with Daley or not (and I obviously don\u2019t), let\u2019s at least give the Blues coach credit for having the courage to stick with the call he believed was right in the first place.<\/p>\n Mitchell Moses is racing the clock to prove his fitness.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n At the end of the day it is Daley\u2019s coaching reputation that is now riding on the result.<\/p>\n The decision to overlook Strange could not only become the defining talking point of this series, it may even leave another unwanted mark on Daley\u2019s coaching legacy.<\/p>\n There has already been speculation that regardless of the outcome, Daley could walk away from the job when this series is over.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why I really do admire the courage it took to bring Moses straight back into the side.<\/p>\n Daley obviously believed Moses was his best option before he injured his hamstring, and he wasn\u2019t prepared to let public opinion change that now.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also great to see young Isaiya Katoa get his call up on the extended bench just in case Moses is ruled out.<\/p>\n THE NUMBERS THAT DON\u2019T STACK UP<\/p>\n History also shows NSW are at their best with a hard-running five-eighth alongside a dominant halfback.<\/p>\n And we all know Nathan Cleary will always be the dominant playmaker in any side he plays in.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why the numbers are also interesting when we are comparing the different combinations here.<\/p>\n When Cleary and Moses combined in Origin I last year, Cleary finished with 65 possessions and 17 kicks. Moses had just 40 possessions and three kicks.<\/p>\n Compare that to Strange in Origin I this year who only had 33 possessions to Cleary\u2019s 90, and just the one kick.<\/p>\n But Strange still finished with 11 runs for 101 metres, including three line-break assists and a try.<\/p>\n Yet on both occasions, what was crystal clear was that Cleary was still the main man.<\/p>\n That\u2019s what makes this selection so fascinating now.<\/p>\n How will Moses\u2019 return change the way the Blues attack \u2014 and will it be the better for it?<\/p>\n After the way Cleary and Strange clicked in Sydney, especially in the second half, NSW fans are entitled to wonder whether Daley would have been better off sticking with what worked.<\/p>\n Now the coach needs Moses to prove he got it right.<\/p>\n Like I said, this decision has the potential to either cement Daley\u2019s legacy \u2014 or explode in his face.<\/p>\n Slater opens up on Game 2 QLD squad | 12:19<\/p>\n THE BOLTER, AND A GLARING SNUB<\/p>\n One decision I do love is the inclusion of the tearaway Newcastle backrower Dylan Lucas.<\/p>\n Although I\u2019m not so sure you\u2019d put him straight into the starting team over either Hudson Young or Haumole Olakau\u2019atu \u2014 given Lucas did come up with a couple of errors in the Knights\u2019 loss to the Storm over the weekend.<\/p>\n But this guy is just a try-scoring machine, and the fact Lucas is capable of also playing in the centres gives the Blues versatility they didn\u2019t have in game one.<\/p>\n I still think the unluckiest player of all is the inform Warriors forward Jackson Ford.<\/p>\n Even allowing for Payne Haas\u2019 understandable inclusion, Ford\u2019s club form is way ahead of Addin Fonua-Blake this year.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t forget Ford was also outstanding last weekend in the club game of the season against the Panthers.<\/p>\n And it is not as if Fonua-Blake set the world on fire for NSW in game one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Good luck to Mark Nawaqanitawase for his NSW Origin call up. Personally, I would have liked to have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":724250,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[4614,64,63,689,7292,350729,350720,11170,350719,11405,2667,4532,25907,4438,168664,122223,350730,350721,350726,350724,313432,101477,10743,2105,18742,4555,6406,244518,7287,7672,22326,350728,67131,761,762,673,158,677,11396,13390,150387,350718,701,13391,159,2633,241558,350725,350723,350727,85,59137,4546,670,350722],"class_list":["post-724249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-addin-fonua-blake","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-australian-capital-territory","tag-back-door-exit","tag-battling-injury","tag-billy-slater","tag-blues-starting-side","tag-box-seat","tag-canberra","tag-canberra-raiders","tag-canterbury","tag-casey-mclean","tag-club-form","tag-club-game","tag-coach-credit","tag-coach-needs","tag-coaching-legacy","tag-coaching-reputation","tag-dominant-halfback","tag-dominant-playmaker","tag-dylan-lucas","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-jack-bostock","tag-jacob-kiraz","tag-laurie-daley","tag-line-break-assists","tag-mark-nolan","tag-match-winner","tag-mitchell-moses","tag-moses-gamble","tag-must-win-game","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-new-south-wales","tag-nrl","tag-oceania","tag-paul-crawley","tag-payne-haas","tag-powerhouse-winger","tag-problem-wiyth","tag-queensland","tag-reece-walsh","tag-rugby-league","tag-rugby-union","tag-shock-call","tag-shock-injury-withdrawal","tag-slater-recalls","tag-specialist-centres","tag-sports","tag-starting-team","tag-stephen-crichton","tag-sydney","tag-try-scoring-machine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/724249","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=724249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/724249\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/724250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=724249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=724249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=724249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Madge makes call on playmaker after brutal blunder; how Robbo fills void \u2014 Team Tips<\/a><\/p>\n