NSW coach Laurie Daley gives new Maroons halfback Tom Dearden ultimate compliment for a halfback

News.com.au

18 hours ago

NSW coach Laurie Daley has paid rival halfback Tom Dearden the ultimate compliment by comparing Queensland's running man to Maroons legend Allan Langer, who spent years terrorising the Blues.
Newly appointed Queensland captain Cameron Munster has often been likened to Maroons great Wally Lewis in the big games, but it's his new halves partner who has earnt glowing comparisons just a week out from the crunch clash in Perth.
Langer was a nightmare for tiring defenders and would punish anyone if they were slightly off their assignment, with his lack of size not stopping him from making defenders look silly close to the line.
Daley and Langer crossed paths plenty of times at club level and in Origin, and the Blues boss is preparing for another attacking assault from Dearden, who has replaced long-time captain Daly Cherry-Evans in the No.7 jersey.
'I don't buy into what the opposition do, but what I do know is that Tom Dearden is a great player,' Daley said at the NSW training base in Leura.
'If anyone has ever listened to my radio station that I do, I reckon he's the person I rap most on that radio show over the past 18 months.
'I just love everything about him, and he's going to be a difficult challenge for us because he's a threat every time he has the ball.
'With him and Munster, if they're in a running frame of mind, then it's going to be a big test of our defence.'
Daley said the Blues couldn't afford to sit back and let Queensland's halves attack their line, with the NSW legend on the receiving end of plenty of Langer's trick shots.
Dearden has played four matches for Queensland at five-eighth and came off the bench in game one, but this will be the first time he starts at halfback as the Maroons fight to keep the series alive.
'He's just continually at you and he never rests. The moment that you rest is the moment that he finds you,' Daley said.
'He's got a little bit of 'Alfie' (Langer) about him. It's a different style, but Alfie was always one of those players that was at you, at you, at you, and the moment that you made the wrong decision, he was through. That's what Dearden is.
'He's such a good, tough player who challenges the line and is a massive threat for us.'
Dearden punches above his weight in defence and is a dogged runner of the ball who can hurt you with his short passing game when he's not throwing dummies.
Blues hooker Reece Robson has seen Dearden take more ownership at the Cowboys after moving to halfback for their past three games, and he's expecting nothing different from him next week.
It's not a foreign scenario for Dearden, who replaced Cherry-Evans in the Kangaroos side last year and was named man of the match playing in the halves alongside Mitch Moses in the Pacific Championships final.
'It's not for me to speak about the 'Chez' situation up there, but as a teammate of Tommy's at the Cowboys, I'm glad that he gets his opportunity at half,' Robson said, with Dearden setting up four tries in three games at halfback this year.
'He's definitely played well in the opportunities that he's already had with Queensland – not as the chief playmaker yet – but playing in the halves these days can be pretty similar, especially in Origin where it's war and attrition out there.
'He'll give it his best and go well, but we've got to make sure that we do our job to nullify him and the rest of them as best we can.'