Origin II Selection LIVE: Maroons Captain Daly Cherry-Evans Faces Possible Omission by Billy Slater

Billy Slater has reportedly made the significant decision to drop captain Daly Cherry-Evans from the Maroons squad ahead of Origin II in Perth, marking the first time a skipper has faced such an axing mid-series since 1996.

As per reports from NewsCorp, the Maroons suffered a loss in game one at Suncorp Stadium, registering their first consecutive defeats at that venue since 1998. This could potentially signal the end of the oldest player in Origin history’s tenure, with Tom Dearden poised to take over the No.7 jersey.

Since game three of 2018, Cherry-Evans has been a constant presence in every Origin match, serving as the halfback for the Maroons throughout. He was appointed captain by former coach Kevin Walters in 2019, succeeding Greg Inglis.

While speaking on Fox Sports, Walters described the decision as “one of the toughest choices a coach has faced at that level in quite some time.”

“It’s a monumental decision… perhaps last year’s call with Tedesco against Edwards was similarly significant from a New South Wales perspective,” he said.

“However, from a Queensland standpoint, there hasn’t been a decision of this magnitude in a long while.”

Trevor Gillmeister was the last Maroons captain to be dropped mid-series; after a clean sweep in the 1995 series, the Maroons lost their 1996 series opener 14-6. Coach Paul Vautin responded by making a staggering 10 changes for game two, with Walters among those changes, coming off the bench to replace Michael Hancock. Ultimately, the Maroons went on to be whitewashed 3-0.

Walters admitted he didn’t have a solution for the DCE dilemma but expressed relief that the decision wasn’t his to make.

“I’m glad Billy’s the coach and not me, as it’s an incredibly tough call,” he remarked.

“One perspective is to select DCE and play on; if we lose the series, we lose it for the year, and naturally that would mark the end for DCE as well.

“Alternatively, we could drop him now and battle to win the next two games. What is the optimal team for Queensland to achieve that? That’s the choice Billy and the selectors will need to make.

“I’m confident he has reliable advisors providing solid information, but ultimately it’s Billy’s call, and it’s a tough one. Let’s not sugarcoat it.”