Several axed and injured Queensland stars joined the victorious team but DCE was a no-show.
Former Queensland captain Daly Cherry-Evans was conspicuous by his absence on Wednesday night, as several axed and injured Maroons players joined the team to celebrate their State of Origin series win over NSW. DCE’s replacement Tom Dearden was a standout in QLD’s 24-12 win in Sydney, and justified coach Billy Slater’s decision to hand him the No.7 jersey after being named player of the series.
But the absence of Cherry-Evans still came as a surprise, with the likes of injured fullback Kalyn Ponga, and axed forwards Beau Fermor and Mo Fotuaika all seen celebrating alongside the victorious Maroons team after the game. Injured Blues halfback Mitchell Moses was also seen sitting in the NSW coaching box alongside Laurie Daley throughout the contest.
And it made DCE’s no-show all the more surprising, considering he captained the Maroons to three series wins and represented his state on 26 occasions at Origin level. The Daily Telegraph reportedly reached out to DCE about his absence but the Manly skipper did not respond, with the same report claiming he was at a Sea Eagles club function on Monday night.
Manly have the bye this weekend and there’s every chance DCE is enjoying a mid-season break with his family, which would explain his absence. It would be unfathomable to think Slater did not invite the former skipper to attend on Wednesday night, but it would also be reasonable to suggest he’s still hurting from his Maroons axing, or may not have wanted to take the spotlight off his successor Cameron Munster, who took on the Queensland captaincy superbly.
While Slater’s call to axe DCE looked harsh at the time, it ultimately proved to be a masterstroke as Dearden was named player of the series. The Maroons No.7 was excellent in the Game 2 win and the best player on the park in Wednesday night’s decider, scoring two tries, running for almost 150 metres and providing some desperate defence to mastermind victory for his state.
Maroons defy the odds to clinch Origin series
Munster was superb again after his man-of-the-match display in Game 2, and showed tremendous courage and passion for his state to play just four days after the sudden death of his father, Steven. And Maroons coach Slater hailed the series victory as one of the greatest in Queensland Origin history.
It was the first time in history the Maroons had come back from 1-0 down to win two straight games on the road. They did it with the most inexperienced Origin centre pairing of this decade, with rookie Robert Toia impressing throughout the series and Gehamat Shibasaki justifying his shock call-up for the decider.
Slater’s side had made the Maroons’ 1995 series win a theme this year, after a side missing all Super League-signed players shocked NSW 3-0 to clinch the Origin shield three decades ago. While this might not have been quite on that scale, Slater insisted it was one of the proud Queensland state’s most memorable triumphs.
“I’m so proud of this group,” Slater said. “I’ve been proud of this group a number of times over the last four years, and I don’t know if I’ve been any more proud than tonight. There’s been a lot of hurdles to overcome. It’s an incredible feeling and I’m sure five and a half million people are feeling the same thing.”
