Mitch Moses to miss up to six weeks with his calf injury, won't be back for third State of Origin game
Mitchell Moses won't return for the third State of Origin clash after scans confirmed the severity of his calf injury which has provided a hammer blow to the Blues and his club side Parramatta.
Jarome Luai was brought into NSW camp late on Thursday after confirmation star playmaker Moses had strained his calf, ruling him out of next Wednesday's second clash with the Maroons.
But scans have confirmed just how bad the injury is, with Moses to be sidelined for up to six weeks, ruling him out of the third clash in Sydney.
Moses might not be back in the NRL until as late as round 21 cruelling the chances of the Eels to lift themselves out of second last on the ladder in new coach Jason Ryles' first season in charge.
It comes after Moses had his 2024 season ended by a bicep injury in last year's third Origin clash. He only played eight games last season.
NSW coach Laurie Daley vowed to charge on without Moses, confident Luai could get the job done, adamant the late change wouldn't prove too big a hurdle to overcome.
'It's a funny game, rugby league. With the group of guys that you've got, you've got to make sure that they're prepared really well,' he said.
'We've had setbacks and challenges all the way through the campaign so far, but I'd be disappointed if the fact that we lost a guy six days out and we couldn't cope with that.
'I think the guys are very professional. It's not like we're bringing in a rookie; we're bringing in a guy who has won Origin series before and won four grand finals so he knows what he's doing.'
The Blues can seal back-to-back series wins with a game two victory.
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