NSW will hold fire until after full-time in the Bulldogs-Eels clash, while also awaiting full medical briefings on the slew of stars who turned out in Canberra’s win over South Sydney and Penrith’s 18-14 defeat of Wests Tigers.

Raiders back-rower Hudson Young struggled late in Canberra with cramp and on report for a high shot, but his judiciary record means he will only have to pay a fine for any grade 1 charge.

Daley coached the last NSW squad to go through an entire series with an unchanged 17 in 2017, and played at centre in 1996 – when the Blues named the same side three games running in a 3-0 clean sweep.

Rarely in the modern game does an Origin side go unchanged from game to game, and Daley’s first state coaching tenure did see loyalty to players who ultimately couldn’t trump an elite Queensland side count against him.

Between 2013 and 2017, though, NSW never had the play-making depth to leave a proven winner like Jarome Luai out. Or Tom Trbojevic, Ryan Papenhuyzen. Olakau’atu, Koloamatangi and May.

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For Queensland to be dropping Cherry-Evans, meanwhile, makes him the first skipper to be axed mid-series since Trevor Gillmeister went the same way after game one of that 1996 campaign.

The decision has been compared to Wayne Bennett’s demotion of Wally Lewis at the Broncos in the early 90s.

NSW have, of course, left out their two most recent incumbent captains – James Tedesco for Jake Trbojevic in 2024, while Trbojevic was facing a similar demotion until a head knock ruled him out of this year’s series opener.

For the Maroons to be making a call on Cherry-Evans mid-series reflects the sheer enormity of the decision, though, and rare stability in comparison south of the border.

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