Latrell Mitchell ruled out of Origin II as Mitchell Moses firms for return
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Injured NSW superstar Latrell Mitchell has been ruled out of State of Origin II, but Blues coach Laurie Daley has confirmed Mitchell Moses will return at five-eighth if fit.
Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett told The Sydney Morning Herald on Sunday that Mitchell, who's recovering from a back injury, would not be fit to play again until South Sydney's clash with Parramatta on June 25.
The boom centre will therefore not be available for game two of the Origin series on June 17.
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"His back is no worse; it's just taken a little longer to rehab. That's all," Bennett told The Sydney Morning Herald.
"He won't be picked in Origin. He won't be back until we play Parra, which is after Origin II."
Latrell Mitchell. NRL Imagery
Brisbane's Kotoni Staggs and Canterbury's Stephen Crichton were the NSW centres for game one. Whether Daley sticks with Crichton for game two after his poor night out in the series opener remains to be seen.
Canberra's Ethan Strange took Moses' spot at five-eighth for the series opener after the Parramatta skipper was ruled out with hamstring tightness.
The Raiders five-eighth was brilliant on his Origin debut, scoring a try and tallying two line break assists as NSW ran down Queensland to win 22-20.
If Moses returns at five-eighth, partnering Nathan Cleary in the halves, Strange will likely be used as a bench utility.
However, former NSW captain Paul Gallen believes Strange should be put in the centres at the expense of Crichton.
"I think Mitch [Moses] has proven himself at that level in the past, and he's a very important member of the team," Daley said.
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"It's not a bad hammy, and to be fair, the doc said if he had a week to recover, he would. It was really minor.
"The beauty with Ethan is you can also play him anywhere, not just No.6, but in the centres and even lock."
The Blues will take a 1-0 series lead to the MCG.
