Parramatta star faces crucial assessment ahead of State of Origin II selection
Mitchell Moses will have to undergo a secret fitness test on the hamstring he injured on Monday before being selected by the Blues for his second State of Origin match.
Moses spent the week recovering from a left hamstring injury suffered 48 hours before Origin I, which also kept him away from club duty at Parramatta against the Bulldogs at Accor Stadium.
Moses was expected to be in full swing until Thursday, when he will be named in the Blues squad and NSW will hold its first serious training session in camp.
However, Moses’ fitness test over the Kings Birthday break will mean Parramatta will make the final decision on their star player’s availability. The move also eliminates the Blues’ uncertainty around No. 6’s fitness in the early days of camp.
Should Musa be eliminated by the Eels, Canberra’s Ethan Strange is expected to be the fifth-eighth, with Musa having played in game one after breaking down 48 hours before kick-off. Dolphins star Isaiya Katoa will be benched as the backup quarterback.
Katoa was included in the Blues’ wide squad by Daley ahead of Origin III last year.
Parramatta coach Jason Ryles said on Sunday that if Moses performs well from his latest fitness run, he will be more than ready for the second leg in Melbourne on June 17.
“If he gets elected, it won’t be a problem,” Ryles said. “[Moses] He’s going to increase his running speed and volume, and he’s in the middle of that right now. It’s looking pretty good right now.
“It will be fine, provided there are no incidents. It will be a pretty quick turnaround.” [until the team is named] – all you need to know is that if he is selected, he will be eligible to play.”
Moses was not named in the game against Canterbury on Monday, with Ryles admitting he could have pushed at half-time but it wasn’t worth it.
Ryles also said he had no issues with Moses being handed over to NSW despite the 31-year-old injuring his calf at Origin camp ahead of the second leg last year.
“We’re delighted he’s playing Origin, he deserves it and I think he does really well every time he goes and plays, NSW does well as well,” Ryles said.
“That’s part of having good players at your football club. If they’re playing Origin you have a better chance of winning every weekend.”
“For me, having experienced this firsthand, it’s really important that they get the opportunity to do this. “If Mitch is elected, that’s important. [for Parramatta] playing.”
The NSW team will enter camp at Sydney Olympic Park on Monday afternoon and the selectors will be keeping their eye on center Stephen Crichton; first of all, if he plays center and how much pain his AC joint is causing him if he does.
If Crichton is out of form, Penrith’s Casey McLean will slot into the starting team and the Blues are then expected to look at Matt Burton, Dolphins’ Jack Bostock, South Sydney’s Campbell Graham or Newcastle speedster Fletcher Sharpe for the bench.
Wests Tigers hooker Api Koroisau also took the stand as the second hooker after Cronulla’s Blayke Brailey broke his arm.
Meanwhile, the injury-fever Eels will feature Teancum Brown for the first time against the Dogs, with the former Penrith prop struggling with injuries and bad luck in recent seasons. The club held a jersey launch for Brown, who will be the Eels’ player number 872.
