NSW Blues head coach Laurie Daley has revealed Mitchell Moses is still on track to play Game 2 of the State of Origin series despite not training on Wednsday.
Seven days out from the game, Moses was seen warming up on his own before reporters were asked to leave, a sure sign his hamstring is not yet ready.
Laurie Daley, speaking to reports, said Moses was on track to train at "full clip" tomorrow - Thursday - and that he would need to do that to play.
He also revealed Isaiya Katoa will still be released to play for the Dolphins on Friday night.
“We probably won't have him do all the session, but he'll need to be going at full clip, and he's on track to do that. There are no issues as far as we're concerned,” Daley said.
“Izzy will go back and play with the Dolphins on Friday night. I think if we had a lot of concern, we probably would have made the call to have Izzy in the 20 somewhere, so we're comfortable with where it's at.”
Katoa was brought into the squad effectively as cover for Moses, although would only come onto the bench if the Parramatta star is ruled out.
Moses has been picked to start Game 2 despite Ethan Strange mounting a case to be the man of the match in the Blues' stunning comeback. The Canberra star reverts to his originally named bench position for the trip to the Victorian capital.
Moses originally injured his hamstring in the lead-up to Game 1 just days out from the contest, having originally been picked to partner Nathan Cleary.
Despite Strange returning to the bench, Daley opened up on the tactics he was going to use for Game 2, suggesting Strange will get game time whether he is starting or coming off the bench.
“There will be options to put him on as a five-eighth. There will be options to put him on as a 13,” Daley explained.
“One thing I know about Ethan (is) he's strong, he's a ball runner and that's valuable at Origin level because there's fatigue in everyone and if you've got someone that can identify a fatigued player and they run the ball at strength and with speed, they're going to be a handful and that is what Ethan will provide.”
