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Injured centre Latrell Mitchell is out of the selection frame for the second State of Origin clash in Melbourne, but NSW Laurie Daley has confirmed Mitchell Moses is likely to reclaim the NSW No. 6 jersey if he proves his fitness for Parramatta next Monday.
South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett said on Sunday his strike centre Mitchell would not feature for the Bunnies when they take on Manly on Thursday, and is unlikely to return from a back injury until round 17 against Parramatta - after second Origin game on June 18 at the MCG.
Mitchell was the form centre in the NRL before he injured his back against the Knights and missed a game against Cronulla, before returning for Magic Round. But he broke down again and then ruled himself out of contention for the Blues for Origin I.
It was hoped Mitchell would be back for Souths’ clash against Manly on Thursday, but Bennett said his return date is another month away.
“His back is no worse, it’s just taken a little longer to rehab, that’s all,” Bennett said.
“He won’t be picked in Origin. He won’t be back until we play Parra, which is after Origin II.”
Campbell Graham (calf) will be back for the Sea Eagles clash.
Provided they stay fit, Stephen Crichton and Kotoni Staggs will likely be retained as the Blues’ centre pairing for the second Origin game.
Moses is expected to overcome a hamstring injury and feature for the Eels next Monday against the Dogs. Daley will name his team after that western Sydney derby. Dogs’ temporary fullback Jacob Kiraz is also being monitored.
Broncos prop Payne Haas (knee) will be available for NSW selection, and so will Penrith backrower Liam Martin (knee). Wests Tigers’ skipper Api Koroisau and Sydney Roosters’ utility Connor Watson are in the mix to replace Blayke Brailey (broken arm).
Moses was picked as the starting NSW no.6 but pulled up with a tight hamstring two days before the opening interstate clash against the Maroons. His replacement Ethan Strange was outstanding on debut, and the Canberra rookie would not look out of place if he retained the starting five-eighth role.
But Daley is set to stay loyal to Moses if he returns to full fitness.
“I think Mitch has proven himself at that level in the past, and he’s a very important member of the team,” Daley said.
“It’s not a bad hammy, and to be fair, the doc said if he had a week to recover, he would. It was really minor. The beauty with Ethan is you can also play him anywhere, not just No. 6, but in the centres and even lock.”
The Blues were slow to start last Wednesday night, trailing 20-6 at half-time. They were also behind 20-0 in game three last year in Sydney, which came on the back of a 26-6 scoreline at the break in Perth.
“We were slow out of the blocks in Perth, probably didn’t handle the emotion of the occasion and what Queensland might throw at us in Sydney, while last Wednesday was mainly to do with errors – we didn’t hold the ball,” Daley said.
“People have also overlooked we trained with a guy at five-eighth all week, and while Ethan was excellent, he only slotted in there late, and had spent most of the camp training everywhere else, which was always going top upset our rhythm at the start.
“Having said that, we need to work out why we have started slow. We’re all aware of it. I’ll also have to look at what I’m doing or not doing.”
