Maroons legend stunned by ‘mind-blowing’ Daley decision

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Queensland great Darius Boyd has poked fun at the Blues leading into the State of Origin decider, following a “mind-blowing” selection call from Laurie Daley.

All the pressure has been on NSW heading into game three, with a lucky escape in the series opener followed up by a horror loss in Melbourne.

Daley’s selection process has come under immense scrutiny, with the likes of Haumole Olakau’atu and Brian To’o casualties during the Origin campaign.

The under-siege coach made a stack of changes for the decider but Boyd - who scored 17 tries from 28 games for the Maroons - believes it won’t fix their issues.

“It’s interesting to me - I personally would have made different changes in terms of the whole look of the team,” he said on Wide World of Sports’ QLDER.

“To me, it’s just trying to fill in some gaps. [The issue was] the first 20 minutes in game one and the second half in game two and normally that means you haven’t laid enough of a platform through the middle.

“To not change any of the middles and start changing wingers and centres around, it’s not what I would have expected … but that’s their problem.”

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One of the big talking points has been the way Daley has used his bench in the opening two games, while his decision to keep Cameron Murray on the bench despite everyone calling for him to start has copped plenty of criticism.

The situation surrounding Olakau’atu also has been in the spotlight, after he axed the Manly wrecking ball only to recall him on the bench in game three.

But the most puzzling call, according to Boyd, came with one of NSW’s heroes from the comeback victory at Accor Stadium.

“You think about Olakau’atu and trying to instil belief and confidence, that’s maybe where NSW have been lacking,” he said.

“He started in game one, he’s in the 20-man squad for game two and then you bring him back for game three. What does that do for someone’s confidence?

“It’s like ‘if I don’t perform well in this one game, I might never play for NSW again’.

“Then I think about Ethan Strange - arguably their best player in game one - you’ve gotta find a spot somewhere in and have him play 80 minutes.

“He might not get on for game three and that’s just mind-blowing, given what he did in game one and what he’s been doing for Canberra the past two years.

“Again, that’s their problem - hopefully they keep making those same mistakes.”

Strange scored a crucial try in game one when filling in at five-eighth, but has since been overlooked for a returning Mitchell Moses.

The decider is scheduled for July 8 at Suncorp Stadium.