Lockyer hoses down Farnworth's Origin dream
Queensland legend Darren Lockyer hoses down the dream of English centre Herbie Farnworth to play for the Maroons in Origin.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
Daly Cherry-Evans's State of Origin axing doesn't erase his journey as Queensland's fearless leader
There are great players who play State of Origin, and there are great State of Origin players — a specific breed who just seems tailor-made for the arena. They're good players who became 10-feet tall and bulletproof once they put on their blue or maroon armour. They're usually forwards, although Dane Gagai is one of the best examples in recent years, and having them in your team is more often a luxury afforded to squads boasting elite talent. With a combined one try from 47 games, Ash Harrison and Nate Myles were two of the most important members of Queensland's 'Eight Straight' dynasty because they did the dirty work for Darren Lockyer, Johnathan Thurston, Billy Slater and Greg Inglis to finish off. But when a team isn't brimming with top-end talent, sometimes we see players who must fill both roles. And so we come to today's subject: Daly Cherry-Evans. The 36-year-old Queensland captain has been dropped for Game II in Perth after playing 20 straight Origin contests, including leading the team to unlikely series wins in 2020, '22 and '23. It's all come to an end as a desperate Maroons side tries to arrest a worrying slide that started a year ago. Few would argue Cherry-Evans is a better player than Thurston (who played the second half of his Origin career as a five-eighth), Allan Langer or even Cooper Cronk, but perhaps none of them can match the impact of the Maroons' 15th captain in the seven for his state. And who saw that coming even five years ago? In his first four seasons, Cherry-Evans won rookie of the year, a premiership, a Clive Churchill Medal, debuted for Queensland and Australia, and was crowned Dally M halfback of the year. The stage was set for him to become a legend of the game and follow the route of Cronk from bench utility to Queensland Maroons halfback and his first two games — both wins as Queensland claimed its eighth-straight series in 2013 — seemed to confirm it. But something was off. The smile was a little too painted on, the speech a little too media-trained, the hair a little too … blonde. A golden boy, wunderkind-type playing on the Northern Beaches of Sydney doesn't gel with the grit-and-grind battler image the Maroons have cultivated over decades of Origin myth-building. So there was an uneasy feeling when Cherry-Evans's first game as Queensland's starting halfback not only marked the end of a dynasty, but he was, in fact, central to that end. After failing to make an impact when Cronk broke his arm 10 minutes into the 2014 series opener, Cherry-Evans, in just his fourth Origin game, was handed the famous maroon number seven for Game II. As Queensland desperately tried to hang on to a 4-0 lead and keep the series alive in the final minutes in Sydney, opposite number Trent Hodkinson went to the line with the ball in two hands. Cherry-Evans made a pointed decision (he literally pointed with an outstretched arm) to signal he would tackle Ryan Hoffman on the outside. Hodkinson saw this, tucked the ball under his arm, Ben Te'o couldn't close the gap behind his halfback, and Hodkinson scooted through effectively untouched to nab his piece of Origin folklore. Cronk's return a game later to steer Queensland to a 24-point victory in the dead rubber confirmed he was still the man, and the succession would not be so straightforward. A year later, Cherry-Evans signed a four-year deal with Gold Coast in March only to backflip in June after three months of rumblings and rumours. The front page of the Gold Coast Bulletin declared he was "not worthy of this great state" and dubbed him "just another filthy cockroach". A week before that, he missed the first game of the 2015 Origin series through injury, replaced Cronk in another loss for Game II and was told by coach Mal Meninga he was surplus to requirements for the decider. DCE was in the wilderness for three years. There were a few openings alongside Cronk and Thurston in that time, but Ben Hunt, Cameron Munster and Anthony Milford were picked ahead of him in the halves. Finally recalled for just his eighth game in six years, he got his first win as a starter in the 2018 dead rubber. But, far from the squad of legends with which he debuted five years earlier, Queensland was suddenly a team in flux. After winning their 11th series in 12 years in 2017, the heart and soul of their dynasty walked out the door in a little over 12 months with the departures of Cameron Smith, Thurston, Cronk, Slater, Inglis and Meninga. No-one knew what the future held. So on-tilt were the Maroons that not even Cherry-Evans, a 29-year-old premiership-winning halfback with almost a dozen caps for Australia, was a sure thing. "Going forward, there's talk that Michael Morgan can play halfback, and he might be the halfback to take them forward. But they're going to be in two minds now after watching how Daly handled that tonight," former Maroons captain and coach Paul Vautin said after DCE's Origin return. Smith said the Manly man could have been named player of the match for a controlled and commanding performance and was "a really big chance" to hang on to the number seven, and outgoing captain and future coach Slater was less equivocal as he fawned over the playmaker's performance. "He led us around all week, he learned the gameplan, in his spare time he came up to a few of us and worked on our combinations. He wanted to understand the plays," he said after his final Origin. "I think that number seven jersey is his for a long time to come." And so it was, with interest. When Inglis announced his retirement two months before the start of the 2019 series, the Maroons handed a number seven jersey with a big 'C' on it to The Artist Formerly Known As Filthy Cockroach. He inherited a team led by second-year coach Kevin Walters and boasting an uneasy mix of ageing talent and young unknowns. From 2019 to 2022, four different coaches took the reins of the Maroons. Add to that NSW's core of James Tedesco, Boyd Cordner, Nathan Cleary, Latrell Mitchell and Tom Trbojevic that emerged through 2018, with Cordner the only one on the far side of 26 by the end of the series. It really can't be overstated how dire the state of affairs were for the Maroons, as evidenced by calls from Queensland officials for Smith to come out of retirement two years after his last game. The fact the Maroons had so few other options meant the captaincy didn't feel as much like a seal of approval as it was another pressure-laden chance for Cherry-Evans to prove himself. Losing the 2019 series by just one try in one of the all-time great deciders showed remarkable grit. Then came his crowning glory in 2020. In a rare Cherry-Evans performance that can be counted by stats and not just vibes alone, he led the Maroons in running metres, made 35 tackles and was named man of the match as his underdog squad, boasting eight debutants, came back from 10-0 down to beat the Blues 18-14 in the series opener. They took NSW's best shot in a 34-10 loss in Game II, before winning the series 20-14 in Game III despite being hammered by injuries so badly that jersey numbers 19 and 21 were sighted in the starting backline, naming 14 rookies across the three games. As impressive as leading the Maroons to the shield was, DCE saved his most iconic moment for the post-match presentation after the Lang Park decider, when he responded to pre-match digs from Sydney papers and backed up by former NSW captain Paul Gallen. "On behalf of the worst-ever Queensland team, thank you very much," he said with his full chest. Nothing endears you to an entire state quite like flipping the metaphorical bird to its greatest enemies; in this case, the Blues, Gallen, and The Daily Telegraph. Cherry-Evans has made a habit of having these moments, and while his post-game speech in 2020 was clearly something he'd thought about beforehand, most of his iconic moments have come on the field. Things like his expert kicking game laying the platform for Ben Hunt's heroics in the 2022 decider, or his chase-down tackle on Stephen Crichton in Game II in 2023, or nailing a 40/20 immediately after Nicho Hynes's failed attempt and a game-sealing intercept in the 2024 opener. And when the team is down and out, Cherry-Evans embodies the never-say-die attitude the Maroons have always been famed for. He aims up, takes on the line, tussles outside his weight class with the likes of Crichton or Hudson Young: the classic archetype of a leader who won't ask his charges to do anything he wouldn't do first. Like Cameron Smith, Queensland's last long-term captain, Cherry-Evans has never been the fastest or the strongest, but that just means as he's aged, he hasn't lost any athletic tools he once relied on and continued to play his best football in the toughest arena. And, like halfback predecessor Cronk, you can bet he'll be there when the game is there to be won, saved or simply kept alive. He knew when to take over — more than once out-kicking the likes of Nathan Cleary and Mitchell Moses — and when to step back to let someone like Munster, Kalyn Ponga, Hunt or Harry Grant cook. Everything is team-first. It's an approach that has seen him and the Maroons over-achieve throughout an era of phenomenal NSW talent, becoming one of only five men (with Wally Lewis, Darren Lockyer, Cameron Smith and Laurie Daley) to have captained three series wins for his state. Cherry-Evans worked his backside off over a decade to win back the love and faith of Queenslanders, but the tide can turn the other way much faster. After the heroics of 2020, boos still rang out on the Gold Coast the following year as he got on the mic after conceding 76 points in the first two games and losing the series despite all three games being played in Queensland. After all he's done, DCE's exit has been unbecoming, but that's not unique. Lockyer, JT and Cronk went out as winners, but Slater and Inglis didn't. And even Smith copped some side-eye when he announced his representative retirement three weeks before Origin I in 2018. Queensland lost the next two series after Smith called time, so perhaps the most important thing for Cherry-Evans's exit was to not leave the Maroons in the lurch. Ultimately, the team's hand was forced into an early and almost unprecedented ejection for a Queensland captain, but a Simone Biles-esque dismount with 10s across the board may not have ever been a live option. Getting axed after three straight losses (and possibly his least impactful outing since his 2018 recall) is worse than he deserves, but should he have instead left on the sourest of notes after losing a decider in Brisbane last year? Munster missed the entire 2024 series with a groin injury — an ailment that can linger — and Tom Dearden only started at halfback for the first time in four years just three weeks ago, a move that now seems very calculated by someone with an interest in seeing how he looks in the number seven. The immediate futures of halves Sam Walker and Ezra Mam, both of whom have spent time in camp with the Maroons in the past few years, were also foggy at best for very different reasons to start 2025. So, the notion of Slater dropping his captain after one game of this series would have been nigh unthinkable before the season. Dearden has been the anointed heir since his brilliant debut in the 2022 decider and the idea of a Dearden-Walker halves pairing is a scary prospect, but Walker is on the comeback from a torn ACL and only truly locked down the Roosters' starting role in 2023 and Dearden, despite have played NRL since 2019, is still only 24 years old. Munster is years removed from his last trademark Origin performance and the 30-year-old might have to step up as the elder halves statesman for a few more series, but the future isn't exactly grim for Queensland. Dearden, Tino Fa'asuamaleaui, Reece Walsh, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Xavier Coates and Jeremiah Nanai are just some of the 34 players to debut in the Cherry-Evans era and are all 25 or under, while leaders like Pat Carrigan, Harry Grant and Reuben Cotter are barely older. And, contrary to the leadership vacuum Cherry-Evans walked into six years ago, the team is now so lousy with captaincy options that it might have made it easier to drop him. Fa'asuamaleaui, Dearden, Cotter and Grant are club captains, and Carrigan has done the job before. The heart of the team is almost entirely in their mid-to-late 20s with Origin experience to burn. Cherry-Evans won, almost always against the odds, and took the Maroons through some awkward teenage years, then left the place in better shape than he found it. You can't ask for much more. Not bad for a filthy cockroach.
7NEWS
a day ago
- 7NEWS
Pat Cummins sends ominous warning ahead of WTC final against South Africa
In a warning to the world's batters, Pat Cummins has declared he is feeling better than he has for years. Fixing up an 'iffy' ankle and taking paternity leave has allowed the star quick to return to top shape for Australia's World Test Championship final against South Africa. After leading Australia to a drought-breaking Border-Gavaskar trophy victory against India in January, Cummins didn't play at all until the Indian Premier League started at the end of March. The 32-year-old missed Australia's tour of Sri Lanka for the arrival of his second child, Edith, in February. 'Having a bit of a break before the IPL; paternity leave and getting my ankle, which was a little bit iffy, fixed up, so physically I feel as good as I have in years,' Cummins told AAP. 'I've been able to have a good couple of bowls over here in England. 'The IPL's always pretty long, but (Australia assistant coach) Dan Vettori is coach (of Sunrisers Hyderabad) and Trav Head, family made it over. 'It feels like I have a lot of bandwidth and feel fresh.' After training at Beckenham on arrival in England, Australia moved across to the famous Lord's on Sunday to prepare for the WTC decider, which starts on Wednesday. Cummins did manage to sneak away from training to visit English personality Jeremy Clarkson's farm on Friday. The WTC final will be shown in Australia exclusively through Prime Video, the same service that screens the popular Clarkson's Farm. Australia are gunning for back-to-back WTC crowns, after beating India in the 2023 final at The Oval. Despite England rival Ben Stokes previously talking down the WTC, now completing its third cycle, Cummins has hailed the concept. 'It's an ICC event where every Test playing nation is competing, so we want to win that,' Cummins said. 'Someone's going to win the trophy. We want it to be us. 'It gives relevance to some two-match series that perhaps otherwise get lost in the calendar. 'We talk about it a lot. We think it's awesome. 'We've had a really good few years as a Test side. We've been No.1 for a long time, but to actually have one, hopefully two trophies to show for this era as well, that would be really nice.' The first three finals have all been held in England, with this edition the first to take place at Lord's. With the increasingly packed cricket calendar, fitting in the WTC decider following the end of the IPL makes the most sense. 'Logistically, it seems like that's probably the easiest way to have one venue,' said Cummins, an Amazon Prime Video ambassador. 'It'd be nice, maybe the previous winner hosts that for the next time, or something like that. 'But as an alternative, I think having it at Lord's every cycle is also a pretty good place.'
The Advertiser
2 days ago
- The Advertiser
Injured Huni counts cost of world title near-miss
Justis Huni faces more surgery and a long road back to the heavyweight summit after a cruel 10th-round knockout robbed him of one of Australian boxing's great triumphs. The Brisbane heavyweight's valiant bid for the WBA interim world title was ended in devastating fashion by English star and favourite Fabio Wardley on Sunday morning (AEST). The 26-year-old had stepped in on five weeks' notice to replace injured American fighter Jarrell Miller, and for nine rounds looked in complete control in front of a raucous crowd at Portman Road, the home of Wardley's beloved English soccer team Ipswich Town. Indeed, two judges had Huni ahead 89-82 and a third had scored the fight 88-83 through nine rounds before Wardley's "one-in-1000 punch" sent Huni to the canvas. Huni was soon back on his feet and looked steady, but English referee John Latham was quick to wave the Australian away and leave his camp furious. Huni, who fell to 12-1, still collected a rumoured sum of about $1 million. But it's now Wardley (18-0) in the box seat as the primary challenger to the winner of Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois's undisputed title fight in July. Manager Mick Francis believed his man wasn't given the full 10-count, and also revealed Huni had battled nerve pain in his surgically repaired elbow in the week of the fight. But Francis told AAP an official protest would amount to little and that Huni would likely need surgery to correct the issue before considering his return to the summit. "Pretty disappointed in how quickly the referee waved it off," Francis told AAP. "Justis won a lot of fans and was putting on a clinic, but he walked into a one-in-1000 punch and what's done is done now. "He was always up against it; they were looking for any excuse to give (Wardley) the fight. "Considering he's been stopped (by a knockout) it doesn't help things. "Justis probably needs six months to himself, then it's maybe three, four more fights (to be back in a similar position).'' Boasting a glittering amateur career, including World Championships bronze, Huni looked keen to display his credentials on the big stage. Huni insisted he hadn't flown more than "10,000 miles" not to try to cause an upset, and his stinging right hand, lively footwork and impressive hand speed left the Briton looking completely lost. But it was then that Wardley somehow pulled out a stunning right hand from absolutely nowhere, forcing an astonishing KO and sending his relieved fans into wild celebrations. "That's my curse. I even said before this fight it only takes one second to switch off, it happened tonight," a gracious Huni told DAZN. "I'm grateful to Fabio and his team and to Ipswich to be able to perform in front of you. Get behind him, he's going to do great things. "He's just an awesome fighter. He never gave up and he got the win, he deserves it." Wardley, whose win will boost his WBA ranking with the sanctioning body, was keen to praise the previously unbeaten Aussie. "I don't profess to being any Usyk or Justis Huni who has all the skills, but I know how to win fights and that's one thing I knew I had to do tonight," Wardley said in the ring. "Justis Huni is a great operator. We'd drilled everything over and over again. "He's a great boxer, some great skills, and he showed me everything he had tonight." Justis Huni faces more surgery and a long road back to the heavyweight summit after a cruel 10th-round knockout robbed him of one of Australian boxing's great triumphs. The Brisbane heavyweight's valiant bid for the WBA interim world title was ended in devastating fashion by English star and favourite Fabio Wardley on Sunday morning (AEST). The 26-year-old had stepped in on five weeks' notice to replace injured American fighter Jarrell Miller, and for nine rounds looked in complete control in front of a raucous crowd at Portman Road, the home of Wardley's beloved English soccer team Ipswich Town. Indeed, two judges had Huni ahead 89-82 and a third had scored the fight 88-83 through nine rounds before Wardley's "one-in-1000 punch" sent Huni to the canvas. Huni was soon back on his feet and looked steady, but English referee John Latham was quick to wave the Australian away and leave his camp furious. Huni, who fell to 12-1, still collected a rumoured sum of about $1 million. But it's now Wardley (18-0) in the box seat as the primary challenger to the winner of Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois's undisputed title fight in July. Manager Mick Francis believed his man wasn't given the full 10-count, and also revealed Huni had battled nerve pain in his surgically repaired elbow in the week of the fight. But Francis told AAP an official protest would amount to little and that Huni would likely need surgery to correct the issue before considering his return to the summit. "Pretty disappointed in how quickly the referee waved it off," Francis told AAP. "Justis won a lot of fans and was putting on a clinic, but he walked into a one-in-1000 punch and what's done is done now. "He was always up against it; they were looking for any excuse to give (Wardley) the fight. "Considering he's been stopped (by a knockout) it doesn't help things. "Justis probably needs six months to himself, then it's maybe three, four more fights (to be back in a similar position).'' Boasting a glittering amateur career, including World Championships bronze, Huni looked keen to display his credentials on the big stage. Huni insisted he hadn't flown more than "10,000 miles" not to try to cause an upset, and his stinging right hand, lively footwork and impressive hand speed left the Briton looking completely lost. But it was then that Wardley somehow pulled out a stunning right hand from absolutely nowhere, forcing an astonishing KO and sending his relieved fans into wild celebrations. "That's my curse. I even said before this fight it only takes one second to switch off, it happened tonight," a gracious Huni told DAZN. "I'm grateful to Fabio and his team and to Ipswich to be able to perform in front of you. Get behind him, he's going to do great things. "He's just an awesome fighter. He never gave up and he got the win, he deserves it." Wardley, whose win will boost his WBA ranking with the sanctioning body, was keen to praise the previously unbeaten Aussie. "I don't profess to being any Usyk or Justis Huni who has all the skills, but I know how to win fights and that's one thing I knew I had to do tonight," Wardley said in the ring. "Justis Huni is a great operator. We'd drilled everything over and over again. "He's a great boxer, some great skills, and he showed me everything he had tonight." Justis Huni faces more surgery and a long road back to the heavyweight summit after a cruel 10th-round knockout robbed him of one of Australian boxing's great triumphs. The Brisbane heavyweight's valiant bid for the WBA interim world title was ended in devastating fashion by English star and favourite Fabio Wardley on Sunday morning (AEST). The 26-year-old had stepped in on five weeks' notice to replace injured American fighter Jarrell Miller, and for nine rounds looked in complete control in front of a raucous crowd at Portman Road, the home of Wardley's beloved English soccer team Ipswich Town. Indeed, two judges had Huni ahead 89-82 and a third had scored the fight 88-83 through nine rounds before Wardley's "one-in-1000 punch" sent Huni to the canvas. Huni was soon back on his feet and looked steady, but English referee John Latham was quick to wave the Australian away and leave his camp furious. Huni, who fell to 12-1, still collected a rumoured sum of about $1 million. But it's now Wardley (18-0) in the box seat as the primary challenger to the winner of Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois's undisputed title fight in July. Manager Mick Francis believed his man wasn't given the full 10-count, and also revealed Huni had battled nerve pain in his surgically repaired elbow in the week of the fight. But Francis told AAP an official protest would amount to little and that Huni would likely need surgery to correct the issue before considering his return to the summit. "Pretty disappointed in how quickly the referee waved it off," Francis told AAP. "Justis won a lot of fans and was putting on a clinic, but he walked into a one-in-1000 punch and what's done is done now. "He was always up against it; they were looking for any excuse to give (Wardley) the fight. "Considering he's been stopped (by a knockout) it doesn't help things. "Justis probably needs six months to himself, then it's maybe three, four more fights (to be back in a similar position).'' Boasting a glittering amateur career, including World Championships bronze, Huni looked keen to display his credentials on the big stage. Huni insisted he hadn't flown more than "10,000 miles" not to try to cause an upset, and his stinging right hand, lively footwork and impressive hand speed left the Briton looking completely lost. But it was then that Wardley somehow pulled out a stunning right hand from absolutely nowhere, forcing an astonishing KO and sending his relieved fans into wild celebrations. "That's my curse. I even said before this fight it only takes one second to switch off, it happened tonight," a gracious Huni told DAZN. "I'm grateful to Fabio and his team and to Ipswich to be able to perform in front of you. Get behind him, he's going to do great things. "He's just an awesome fighter. He never gave up and he got the win, he deserves it." Wardley, whose win will boost his WBA ranking with the sanctioning body, was keen to praise the previously unbeaten Aussie. "I don't profess to being any Usyk or Justis Huni who has all the skills, but I know how to win fights and that's one thing I knew I had to do tonight," Wardley said in the ring. "Justis Huni is a great operator. We'd drilled everything over and over again. "He's a great boxer, some great skills, and he showed me everything he had tonight." Justis Huni faces more surgery and a long road back to the heavyweight summit after a cruel 10th-round knockout robbed him of one of Australian boxing's great triumphs. The Brisbane heavyweight's valiant bid for the WBA interim world title was ended in devastating fashion by English star and favourite Fabio Wardley on Sunday morning (AEST). The 26-year-old had stepped in on five weeks' notice to replace injured American fighter Jarrell Miller, and for nine rounds looked in complete control in front of a raucous crowd at Portman Road, the home of Wardley's beloved English soccer team Ipswich Town. Indeed, two judges had Huni ahead 89-82 and a third had scored the fight 88-83 through nine rounds before Wardley's "one-in-1000 punch" sent Huni to the canvas. Huni was soon back on his feet and looked steady, but English referee John Latham was quick to wave the Australian away and leave his camp furious. Huni, who fell to 12-1, still collected a rumoured sum of about $1 million. But it's now Wardley (18-0) in the box seat as the primary challenger to the winner of Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois's undisputed title fight in July. Manager Mick Francis believed his man wasn't given the full 10-count, and also revealed Huni had battled nerve pain in his surgically repaired elbow in the week of the fight. But Francis told AAP an official protest would amount to little and that Huni would likely need surgery to correct the issue before considering his return to the summit. "Pretty disappointed in how quickly the referee waved it off," Francis told AAP. "Justis won a lot of fans and was putting on a clinic, but he walked into a one-in-1000 punch and what's done is done now. "He was always up against it; they were looking for any excuse to give (Wardley) the fight. "Considering he's been stopped (by a knockout) it doesn't help things. "Justis probably needs six months to himself, then it's maybe three, four more fights (to be back in a similar position).'' Boasting a glittering amateur career, including World Championships bronze, Huni looked keen to display his credentials on the big stage. Huni insisted he hadn't flown more than "10,000 miles" not to try to cause an upset, and his stinging right hand, lively footwork and impressive hand speed left the Briton looking completely lost. But it was then that Wardley somehow pulled out a stunning right hand from absolutely nowhere, forcing an astonishing KO and sending his relieved fans into wild celebrations. "That's my curse. I even said before this fight it only takes one second to switch off, it happened tonight," a gracious Huni told DAZN. "I'm grateful to Fabio and his team and to Ipswich to be able to perform in front of you. Get behind him, he's going to do great things. "He's just an awesome fighter. He never gave up and he got the win, he deserves it." Wardley, whose win will boost his WBA ranking with the sanctioning body, was keen to praise the previously unbeaten Aussie. "I don't profess to being any Usyk or Justis Huni who has all the skills, but I know how to win fights and that's one thing I knew I had to do tonight," Wardley said in the ring. "Justis Huni is a great operator. We'd drilled everything over and over again. "He's a great boxer, some great skills, and he showed me everything he had tonight."
