Mitchell Moses defends Laurie Daley from criticism, Luke Keary’s brutal wake-up call for NSW Blues ahead of Suncorp Stadium decider

NSW five-eighth Mitchell Moses says criticism of coach Laurie Daley has been “completely unfair” in the wake of their humiliating loss at the MCG and has urged former players and fans to get behind the Blues legend ahead of the Origin decider.

Watch every game of every round of the Premiership Season LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.

Daley has come under fire for his selections and his use of the bench in game two in Melbourne that the Blues lost by 20 points despite leading at halftime.

“It’s completely unfair,” Moses said on Tuesday.

“I don’t know where it’s coming from, and to have it come from your own people, your own New South Welshmen, I guess it’s crazy.

“We should be getting behind Laurie as much as possible and supporting him no matter what. And if you’ve worn a blue jersey before, get behind him and support him. Don’t bag him.”

Moses came off in the final few minutes of the MCG clash but insists he’s fine after recovering from a hamstring injury that kept him out of the series opener.

His hamstring was the most talked about one in Australia for several weeks, with the veteran playmaker hoping to get another chance in the decider where he would play with Nathan Cleary for the third time.

The Blues won game one when Cleary partnered Ethan Strange, who is a ball-running five-eighth, but Moses insists two dominant playmakers can work in Origin.

“We both love our footy, so it’s worked before,” he said.

“There were 24 points scored in Origin. You should never lose a game scoring 24 points, you know what I mean?

“There are definitely parts where we can be better. But it’s about sitting down, working out where we can be better, and if we’re given another shot, we have to sit down and see where we can pick them apart.

“We both love our footy, but you’ve got to park your ego to the side and do what’s best for the team, do what’s best for the state.

“We lost so there are definitely things you can do better. Even when you win games, there are definitely things you can do better, so you’re never going to be perfect.”

Moses repeatedly said “if” when talking about getting picked for the decider, and he said that was only natural given the result in Melbourne.

“I think you should be on your toes every game, no matter if you win or you lose,” he said.

“It’s a hard arena to play in, and if you’re not playing at your best, you’re under the pump. And even if you’re playing at your best, there’s still another player there who might be injured or something coming back into the team.

“You should be playing every game like it’s your last Origin, and we weren’t up to scratch in that second half and probably little parts of the first half as well. If I get another chance again, I have to take it.”

Moses will play NRL game 250 on Thursday against a Rabbitohs side missing Blues hopeful Latrell Mitchell to a calf injury.

The star halfback said he felt sorry for his rival but wasn’t too focused on his upcoming milestone that comes 12 years after he made his debut.

“I got to 200 (games) pretty quickly and thought I’d play 400, but that’s taken me a bit to get to 250 now,” he said, with injuries restricting him to just 32 appearances since the start of 2024.

“It’s been a bit of a journey the last few years, I’ve been a bit bashed up and injured, so to be able to get the milestone is a pretty good feeling.”

— Martin Gabor, Newswire

KEARY’S BLUES REALITY CHECK

Last week, Luke Keary said in the wake of Queensland’s win over NSW that the Blues have a “better team on paper” than the Maroons.

Now the one-time Blues representative has doubled down on that claim, suggesting all the talk about team changes for the decider will mean nothing if NSW does not change its mindset.

Laurie Daley is not short on advice ahead of Game 3, with calls for Cameron Murray to start and Ethan Strange to replace Mitchell Moses.

But Keary had a very different take when speaking on Channel 7’s Agenda Setters: Rugby League, going as far as to say it “doesn’t matter” who Daley picks to travel to Suncorp.

“Straight after the game, Cam Smith goes, ‘at minimum six changes.’ Everyone’s saying they’ve got to put this bloke in. It does not matter who goes up there. It doesn’t matter who puts that in,” Keary said.

“It matters about when they get into camp, that the coach gets them together and makes them believe that they need to die for that jersey, die for the cause, and they’ll do anything to win that game.

“It doesn’t matter who you put in there. There’s no one coming to save them. There’s no one saving you.”

That is particularly true with Latrell Mitchell, who was being singled out as NSW’s potential, game-breaking saviour, ruled out for the decider with a calf injury.

Daley has been urged to pick players who have proved they can step up in the big moments, putting individual form aside.

But again, Keary said belief will be the determining factor in whether the Blues can rescue the series.

“They’ve got the best players in the game. They’re the best halfback in the world — got outplayed by Sam Walker. They’ve got everyone, mate. It doesn’t matter,” he added.

“It matters when you turn up to Suncorp, do you believe that you’re going to win that game? Are you going to do anything?”

MATTY JOHNS: WHY DALEY HAS TO BE AN ‘A***HOLE’ TO WIN GAME 3

Elsewhere, Matty Johns had some blunt advice of his own for Daley as the Blues coach prepares to make brutal calls for the Suncorp decider.

While Keary doesn’t believe it matters if the Blues make any changes, it is likely NSW will tinker with its starting line-up given the way things fell apart in Melbourne.

Among those changes, according to Johns, should be starting Cameron Murray ahead of Isaah Yeo, with Daley resisting widespread calls throughout the series to make that move.

Johns also suggested Roosters fullback James Tedesco should be dropped in favour of Dylan Edwards and that Strange should be recalled for Moses.

He also had some simple advice for Daley, who is renowned as one of the genuine nice guys in rugby league.

Get all the latest NRL news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!!

“For people who haven’t met Laurie Daley, and anyone who has met him will agree, there is not a better person in rugby league than Laurie Daley,” Johns said on ‘Matty and Cronk’.

“I think sometimes to make these tough decisions, it’s very difficult for Laurie because it goes against who he is. He’s a very empathetic person. Some some coaches pretend to care about their players. Laurie genuinely cares about people. He’s one of those guys.

“My advice to Laurie would be send Laurie Daley, that person, on holidays for two weeks and just take a leaf out of some other people’s book. It’d just be a complete a***hole because they’ve gots some really tough decisions to make here.

“Nathan and Tedesco just haven’t worked. There’s been moments, but it just hasn’t worked. I think you’ve got to look at Dylan Edwards this third game.

“The other one is the Nathan Cleary and Mitchell Moses combination, and then you’ve got Isaah Yeo as well. I think Isaah goes to the bench and you start Cam Murray… and I think in game two we got beat in the yardage battle but I don’t think we helped ourselves.

“I think there’s just too much passing. There’s too many playmakers. You need another ball on the field. I think it’s Ethan Strange. Ethan Strange is a runner. Cam Murray starts. He’s a runner. Bring Isaah off the bench a little later on.”

Cooper Cronk, meanwhile, suggested if Daley came out and confirmed that “win or lose” he was walking away at the end of the series — as has been rumoured — it could bring not only the team but entire state together.

“One thing I think would happen is that the former New South Wales players that are in the media are going to get behind him because this is his last dance, and I think that puts influence on the players to stand up for one of their greatest ever players,” Cronk said.

“If you’re going to win game three at Suncorp, this is going to go down as one of New South Wales’ greatest ever victories considering what happened in game two and what potentially could happen. Get those players involved.

“I like (Liam) Martin because you know what? He’s going to walk into Suncorp and annoy the hell out of Munster… Turbo can do it. This isn’t about who is in form or who does the fundamentals. This is about who can win for New South Wales in one of the biggest occasions in Origin history.”