Daly Cherry-Evans ‘deserved better’ after Origin drop insists league legend

Rugby league legend Phil Gould has doubled down on his criticism of Queensland’s decision to drop veteran halfback Daly Cherry-Evans ahead of State of Origin Game II, describing the move as “very, very ordinary” and denying the Manly playmaker a proper farewell after a decorated career in Maroon.

When the Maroons side for Perth was unveiled last week, Gould immediately questioned coach Billy Slater’s choice to promote Tom Dearden into the halves, passing the blame for Queensland’s Game I loss onto the forward pack, who were dominated by NSW in the middle.

“I don’t think any halfback, let alone a rookie, is going to function behind a forward pack that was beaten as badly as them,” Gould said at the time.

However, under pressure after losing Game I at Suncorp and with the 2024 series on the line, Slater was forced to make changes – and in the end, it was his former teammate who got the chop for a younger halfback.

Speaking on Nine’s 100% Footy on Monday, the former Blues coach was even more pointed in his criticism, lamenting the way Cherry-Evans’ Origin chapter appears to have ended – not by choice, but by omission.

“He doesn’t get that goodbye moment after a great career, they’ve said goodbye for him,” Gould said.

“He doesn’t get to stand there on the field after a win or loss or draw at the end of the series and say ‘this is my last time.’”

“They’ve made their mind up for him. I think it’s been pretty unceremonious actually. I think it’s very, very ordinary, to be honest.”

The West Australian showdown marks the first State of Origin match Daly Cherry-Evans will miss since Game II in 2018.

On Friday, the former Australian No.7 said he was able to move on quickly after being dropped from the Maroons in a post-match press conference.

“The start of the week was tough – Sunday I got the news [and] Monday had to go to training and face the boys,” he said.

“After that, I honestly started to feel, you know, normal. This is not the first time that I’ve been dropped from the Queensland side, so I guess I’ve had experience to take it on board.”

“You just can’t worry about the things you can’t control and the initial news was tough, but I moved on and thought we were going to come here tonight and play some really good footy.”

Gould didn’t stop there. Looking ahead to Wednesday night’s match, it comes as no great shock that Canterbury Bulldogs general manager predicted a comprehensive win for New South Wales, tipping Dylan Edwards to claim man of the match honours.

“I can find four or five tries for New South Wales, I’m struggling to find two tries for Queensland,” he said.

“If they all kick their goals, 40-12 would be my scoreline. I don’t think it will be close.”

On Wednesday, we’ll find out whether axing the oldest player in Origin history was just an easy scapegoat – or the injection of youthful energy the Maroons needed to spark a comeback.