New South Wales Blues head coach Laurie Daley has revealed he was unsure whether Payne Haas or Stephen Crichton were going to be fit in time for Game 1 of the 2025 State of Origin series.
Both Crichton and Haas managed to play - and get through the series opener in Brisbane - which the Blues won by 12 points in a four tries to one performance.
Crichton, who came into camp with a groin complaint, then suffered a cork to his quad on Monday during training, but managed to recover in time to play.
South Sydney Rabbitohs star Campbell Graham was on standby to come into the side, while Matt Burton had been placed on standby to become 18th man if Graham was required.
Meanwhile, Haas overcome a minor quad tear to play.
"He [Crichton was in doubt. It was a pretty bad cork. Our physios did an amazing job all week with Payne and Critta," Daley said during his post-match press conference.
"Payne's injury, we weren't sure with that either. But they were patient with them.
"Payne had not even half a session, probably quarter of a session on the Monday, and we did nothing on the Tuesday. He hadn't really trained, and then to push out the minutes and be strong the way he was, it was great.
"Critta was fantastic. I think the word that they said to me was Critta's right to go because they asked them this morning how was he and he said he was mad. So that is obviously good."
Haas, who was named man of the match, had a sensational performance leading the Blues through a physical encounter, and Daley was glowing in his praise.
"For a big bloke, limited prep. A ten-day prep with hardly any running because we had to make sure he was right. To jump out of the ground and do what we he did, was inspirational actually," Daley said on Haas.
Haas wound up with more than 150 metres in the contest, while Crichton didn't put a foot wrong either.
The Blues will now prepare for Game 2 in Perth, with Crichton's Bulldogs having a bye this weekend, and Haas no guarantee of playing for the Broncos when they clash with the Manly Sea Eagles on Saturday evening at Brookvale.
