Queensland teammates have defended the performance of Maroons skipper Daly Cherry-Evans in the opening State of Origin loss as pressure mounts on the veteran to keep his place for game two.
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Amid the fallout from the lacklustre 18-6 defeat at Suncorp Stadium – Queensland’s second consecutive home ground defeat – the spotlight is on 36-year-old Cherry-Evans, who failed to inspire the Maroons attack.
A forward pass late in the game, as the home team tried to muster a final charge, was indicative of a battling night for the veteran No.7.
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NSW great Andrew Johns called for Cherry-Evans to be axed for game two and replaced by Tom Dearden, who looms as the playmaker in waiting and came off the bench in Brisbane on Wednesday night.
But Dearden wasn’t prepared to throw his captain under the buss and called the criticism “unfair”, instead pointing the finger at failures across the team.
“It’s unfair criticism like that,” he said on Thursday.
“Daly’s our captain, and he’s at half back, and he doesn’t deserve that because last night as a team, we didn’t get our discipline right, and that puts you under pressure.”
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Former Maroons skipper Cameron Smith said the Queensland key position players, including Cherry-Evans, “couldn’t get the job done” and selection decisions would be crucial to level the series.
“I think (coach Billy Slater) will have that discussion with his selection panel and he’ll go through this game thoroughly,” Smith told Channel 9.
“There’s no doubt that the key position players of Queensland lacked a bit of cohesion tonight.”
Dearden said the Maroons would “get back to work” before the second game in Perth.
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“And work out the areas where we went wrong, where we can get better, and then turn it around for game two and for game three,” he said.
Slater said he would look at every element of the game, including the lead-in, adamant there was “so much more” in his squad.
“Probably some decisions … about the discipline side of the game (have to be better),” Slater said.
“And I’ll look at my preparation as well. I’m not out of this. It’s not just the players, it’s everyone, and we’ll all look at ourselves.
“I know there’s so much more in this footy team.
“It’s a best of three. You’ve only got to win two games, and that’s still alive.”
