Play or not play, that’s Mal’s question

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QUEENSLAND coach Mal Meninga has a big decision to make about Daly Cherry-Evans and it is a call he will need to discuss with his senior players.

Players are always confident of their ability and would never put themselves above the team.

The question for Cherry-Evans, and the one which Mal must consider too, is whether he can get through the entire 80 minutes.

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Daly Cherry-Evans at training. Source: News Corp Australia

Queensland had their final session at ANZ Stadium and I believe much of the decision with Daly will depend upon how he pulls up from that run on Tuesday.

I am sure Daly has done everything possible and gone above and beyond what has been asked of him this week to be ready to play.

If you take the field in Origin you have to be confident you will be there at the end regardless of what niggles you take into the game.

Origins are not won in 20 minutes, or 40 minutes or 60 minutes, they are always decided in 80 minutes. Most games come down to the last play.

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Daly needs to be confident his knee will be as strong on that last play as it is on the first.

We have all played with injuries and I think if this was a club game Daly probably would not be considering playing. With knee injuries you tend to always give it another week.

If Daly plays you can rest assured Cam Smith and Johnathan Thurston will do all the kicking. Queensland are smart enough to keep Daly protected from players diving at his knees when kicking the ball.

It's fair enough for NSW to tackle and target DCE, but if they adopt illegal tactics then the referees need to be on to that immediately.

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If Cherry Evans is ruled out, the question is whether Ben Hunt is up to it.

There is only one way to find out and everyone has made their debut at some stage and his club form certainly suggests he is ready for the challenge.

What could be the bonus for Queensland is all the attention NSW will give however wears the No.7 jersey.

If they target Daly because of his knee, or focus on Hunt on debut, it just might provide the breathing space Thurston has been craving.

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Thurston has been the one player NSW have always targeted but if the Blues are intent on putting pressure on the other half it could give JT the breathing room to cause some damage.

I wrote last week that this game was Mal's biggest challenge and from the times I've spoken to him since he has always come across really relaxed and I'm sure that has rubbed off on the players.

Billy has been declared fit earlier than expected which is good news, GI has trained strongly and that is even better.

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Regardless of who plays halfback, you don't have to be Wayne Bennett, Phil Gould or Laurie Daley to figure out that Josh Dugan is going to get some traffic at him.

Laurie could put the best defender ever to play for NSW on that right edge but with Inglis playing and Darius Boyd outside him, the Maroons are going to come down that flank all night long.

It was a big call from the Blues to put Dugan at centre and trying to expose him defensively would be a major focus for the Maroons in training all week.

Daly Cherry-Evans at training. Source: News Corp Australia

NSW were lucky that they had a club coach willing to help the Blues by trialling Dugan at centre in NRL games in recent weeks.

Origin is a different level altogether.

It asks bigger and tougher questions of players than what you ever encounter in the NRL.

It is why some gambles pay off and others are too risky to consider.

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