Blues back Moses as five-eighth reaches fitness milestone
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Mitchell Moses’ NSW teammates have backed the five-eighth to deliver for the Blues at the MCG next week as he pushes to overcome a hamstring injury that kept him out of the series Origin series opener.
The playmaker was ruled out of Game One just a day before the match after he strained his hamstring completing extras after training.
Moses has not played since suffering the injury and his training loads have been managed throughout the early days of his side’s preparation for next Wednesday’s match.
The five-eighth trained away from the squad on Thursday and completed a mixture of drills and running, with Blues officials pleased with his progress.
Moses is set to play a bigger part in Saturday's session before the team travels to Melbourne to finalise their preparations for the clash at the MCG.
“Everyone’s seen the way that Moey goes about his business and the type of player he is,” prop Addin Fonua-Blake said. “If he does come back into the team, it’s definitely going to take a lot of heat off Nathan [Cleary] and the kicking game.
“He’s a dominant player, his presence out there gives a lot of confidence to the people around him. Coming up against him, you know what a handful he is as well.”
Match: Blues v Maroons
Game 2 -
home Team
Blues
away Team
Maroons
Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
The Blues have also managed the training loads of young gun Casey McLean, who starred on debut in Sydney and will come into the centres for Game Two.
The 20-year-old injured his ankle in Penrith’s win over the Tigers last week and while he trained on his own on Thursday, he is also expected to train with the team on Saturday.
Moses’ return will see Ethan Strange shift to the six-man bench, while Isaiya Katoa has rejoined the Dolphins and is set to play in Friday’s clash with the Roosters.
Ethan Strange Try
Should he be cleared, Moses will recreate a successful partnership with star halfback Nathan Cleary.
The pair have spent plenty of time together in camps over the years but have only combined in the halves once. That was an 18-6 victory for the Blues in Game One at Suncorp Stadium last year.
While they haven’t spent much time on the training field this week, hooker Api Koroisau said Moses’ connection with Cleary is clear to see.
“They’re trying to understand each other’s roles, not just on the field but off the field too,” Koroisau said.
“They’re going to build that connection. They’re not going to be able to get the training loads in but off the field is where all the work can be done.”
Perhaps the biggest impact of Moses’ return will be the change to the Blues kicking game.
The playmaker is one of the best general play kickers in the NRL and he has kicked both Parramatta and NSW to victory on multiple occasions over the years.
Moses’ absence for Game One saw Cleary shoulder the burden of the kicking duties and allowed the Queensland defence to repeatedly target him late in sets.
Cleary dominates Origin 1
Koroisau has been on the receiving end of Moses’ kicking game in clubland and is excited to benefit from it next Wednesday night.
“Mitch’s kicking game is outstanding,” Koroisau said. “Every time we’ve played him, we’ve been camped on our line because of how far he can kick the ball and how well they can kick it.
“It’s pretty cool they both get to be playing in the same team together on either side of the field.”
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