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If Jonathan Thurston wants to call himself a five-eighth, then Manly’s Daly Cherry-Evans is now the best half back in the world according to my player ratings.
This rapid rise to stardom will cause a dilemma for Queensland State of Origin selectors as the Storm’s experienced Cooper Cronk was considered the logical replacement for Thurston, who has elected to move out to second receiver to fill the huge void vacated by legend Darren Lockyer.
Cronk has plenty in his favour to suggest he will be feeding the scums in Origin1 as he is an incumbent Kangaroo, but, significantly, he will have people power on his side.
Whenever it is a close call the senior members of any side are always consulted and Cronk has the advantage of playing with champions Billy Slater and new Maroon skipper, Cam Smith, at club level. Smith and Slater will make it very clear to coach Mal Meninga that they already have a combination with Cronk and they want him – and so it will be.
People power gained rookie centre Dane Nielsen an Origin jersey last year when Greg Inglis was injured. He also plays for the Storm.
It not a bad compromise as Cronk is a world-class player, an intelligent thinker of the game and arguably the best talker on the field in the NRL, but the fact remains that he is not the best number seven.
Daly Cherry-Evans won the Dally M Rookie of the Year Award last season in his debut year, and after only two rounds in 2012, he leads in the Player of the Year Award.
Both players are proficient organisers, have excellent tactical kicking games and defend well above their weight, but Cherry-Evans has an X factor and made exactly three times more tackle breaks last season than Cronk.
Last season’s line breaks, tackle breaks and try assists: Cherry-Evans: 9-111-19, Cronk: 7-37-17.
Incredibly, Cherry-Evans does not look like he will even make the Maroons final 17.
He is a specialist halfback so he either has to start or he is out, unlike Cronk who played last year off the bench and came on as a utility.
Smith is the hooker and an 80 minute player, which gives the Maroons the advantage of being able to play four big forwards off the bench if they choose, so huge talents like Cherry-Evans and the Bulldogs’ Barba are likely to watch the game at home on TV.
The NSW Origin team is also not likely to have their best halfback, as incumbent Mitchell Peace will retain the number seven jersey, regardless how well his former club mate Todd Carney performs as half back for his new club, the Sharks.
It is likely that a compromise will be found and Carney will replace the Dragons Jamie Soward in his old position at pivot.
A fit and well Carney is a better half back than the reliable Pearce, but it would be a brave coach to drop the son of an Independent Commission member.
Blues coach Ricky Stuart knows where his bread is buttered and based on his poor selections last year he cannot have too many more passes left. His Origin coaching record with Andrew Johns is 1-4.
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