Thurston's dagger for DCE after poor moment that could end State of Origin career
Johnathan Thurston has criticised the game-management of Manly - led by Daly Cherry-Evans - that saw them cough up a 16-0 lead to lose to Newcastle on Thursday night. And it could spell the end of the Queensland captain's State of Origin career.
The Knights produced a woeful first-half and were booed off by their own fans, but came back for a staggering 26-22 victory in the second. Speaking on Channel 9 after the game, Thurston said the game-management of Cherry-Evans and the Sea Eagles "wasn't up to scratch".
Fellow Queensland legend Cameron Smith agreed that Cherry-Evans needed to ice the game for Manly considering he's one of the premier halves in the NRL. But the comments from Thurston were most telling considering he's an assistant coach to Billy Slater for the Maroons.
Many have called for Tom Dearden to start at halfback in State of Origin 1, after Cherry-Evans failed to fire in Game 1. The Manly halfback produced a strong performance against the Broncos last weekend, but crashed back to earth on Thursday night.
There was a particularly poor moment with 23 minutes remaining that might spell the end of Cherry-Evans' Origin career. After the Knights had reduced the deficit to 16-12, the Manly halfback took the ball on the short-side near the halfway line and looked to kick it into touch to give his team a breather.
But he belted it out on the full and gave the Knights prime field position for another attacking raid. James Schiller crossed a short time later to make it 16-16, and despite Manly regaining the lead the Knights managed to win in golden-point.
Thurston's comments paint a grim picture for Cherry-Evans as Slater weighs up whether to axe his halfback and captain for Origin 2. "I don't know. I will find out Monday or Sunday," DCE said in his post-match presser. "You always find out on the Sunday or Monday."
DCE kicking the kick off out on the full probably summed up their issues; scrambled thinking rather than game management
— Stuart Akister (@StuartAkister) June 5, 2025
Didn't have to do anything in attack once you lead 22-16 with 10 to go. Kick long and defend for less than 10 minutes. 5 sets of defence. DCE just had absolutely no game management in the final 20. Embarrassing for someone who wants 1 mill next year
— Sam (@desmoneyfr) June 5, 2025
Is DCE trying to kick his way into the Original team? That's 3 shockers so far #gomanly
— Lyn Shields 🦅 (@lynshields) June 5, 2025
Andrew Johns is among the many who have called for Dearden to replace Cherry-Evans, and the Cowboys half will get another chance to impress against the Storm on Friday night. "I genuinely don't know what has been said," Cherry-Evans said on Thursday night about the speculation he'll be axed.
"I understand it's a pretty busy period when it comes to my name. But I am just doing my best to keep my head down. Train and play with the Manly boys and be a good dad."
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Speaking before the Knights game, Cherry-Evans' Queensland predecessor Cooper Cronk urged his old teammate Slater to meet with the half before making a call. "I think Billy should have a heart-to-heart coffee catch up with Daly and ask him how much the jersey means," Cronk said on Fox League.
"Because the series is on the line, and Daly the captain and halfback needs to deliver. (How he plays against Newcastle), I don't think it matters. Billy would have made that gut instinct call up already."
Tellingly, a poll of over 28,000 Yahoo Sport Australia readers has Dearden and Cameron Munster as the overwhelming favourites to be the Queensland halves for Game 2. Over half of the readers who voted would axe DCE for the game in Perth.
with AAP
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