After being granted a stay of execution by coach Laurie Daley, Mitchell Moses is determined to vindicate the faith shown in him by the besieged NSW State of Origin mentor.
Pressure Mounts After Game Two Collapse
Daley was under intense pressure to overhaul his spine for the series decider after Queensland overcame a halftime deficit to thrash NSW 44-24 in Melbourne, forcing a winner-takes-all clash. The Blues coach faced heavy criticism for sticking with Moses at five-eighth, who barely trained before Origin II as he recovered from the hamstring injury that sidelined him for the series opener.
Moses Responds to Critics
“It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks, it’s about what we believe in here in this group,” Moses said. “We can build that belief during the week at training and work on the combinations that we’ve got going and where we can get better. If we can put in some good training performances and get some combinations working we’ll give ourselves a lot of belief going up there to do a job.”
History in Brisbane Gives Hope
Moses was part of the NSW side that won a decider in Brisbane in 2024 under Michael Maguire, one of only three Blues teams to triumph at Lang Park since Origin began. Despite his past heroics — Moses was man of the match in Origin II 2024 and scored the match-winning try in the decider — the Parramatta playmaker knows he is under pressure to deliver again.
No Complacency for the Decider
“You should never feel comfortable wearing the jersey, it’s never your jersey, you can try to make it that for a short amount of time,” Moses said. “You’ve got to play every game like it could be your last and that’ll be no different, I guess come Wednesday week. It’s great to get the call to go again, it’s a great feeling, but it means nothing at the moment until you go out there and do a job.”
