“You just have to do your best and come up with that tackle,” Moses said.
“It’s a one-on-one so it’s all on you, you just have to do it. You have to save your teammates in that situation and they’ll save you in another. We wanted to come with intent and be physical with the ball and without it. Nath and I did speak about it and as a team too. One try we were disappointed with, but we’ll take it.”
NSW halfback Nathan Cleary.Credit: Getty Images
Neither Moses nor Cleary shot the lights out in attack. Cleary’s bread and butter, his oh so reliable boot, was anything but. The Penrith maestro’s kicks seemed off – only slightly, but enough – all night.
Even the kick for Zac Lomax’s one-handed take to deliver the match-winning try lobbed a foot shorter than it should have.
From the tee, Cleary has kicked his goals at better than 90 per cent this season. By the time Dylan Edwards was crossing after miracle efforts from Lomax and Connor Watson to get him the ball, Cleary had only kicked one goal from four attempts and handed duties to the Eels winger.
Again though, it was no game for halves. So Cleary joined Moses in defending like a bigger, meaner man.
Mitchell Moses was busy on Wednesday night.Credit: Getty Images
He was in the thick of Valentine Holmes being shoved into touch when Queensland chased a breakthrough try. And again there to force an error from Kalyn Ponga deep in Maroons territory.
Anyway, anyhow, especially at Suncorp Stadium. Otherwise, the halves dynamic did go as expected. Cleary was on-ball more often than not, registering 62 touches to Moses’ 41.
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Moses handled in the try for To’o, Cleary in both of Lomax’s. This performance won’t dispel the notion that he’s yet to truly dominate the Origin arena. It doesn’t matter though given they’re up 1-0 with games to play in Perth and Sydney.
“I thought they were terrific,” coach Laurie Daley said, again touching most on his halves’ work without the ball.
“Nath really threatened with the ball, Mitch was good and defensively they were both strong. That’s an underrated part of their game, for little blokes to just get in front and make a tackle on big blokes is pretty impressive.”
When Paul Gallen bailed up Moses after full-time, he told him this was the first time since 1997-98 that NSW has won twice on the trot in Brisbane.
“You’ve been there for both of them,” Gallen pointed out.
Moses duly praised his forwards and rued a seven-tackle set one of his poor kicks gave away. When NSW needed it though, the No.6 was there, shoulders and all.
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