Moses Ruled Out as Ethan Strange Nrl Spotlight Shifts to Cleary
Mitchell Moses has been ruled out of Wednesday night’s State of Origin opener, and ethan strange nrl now sits inside a NSW halves picture that has narrowed sharply around Nathan Cleary. With Moses gone, the Blues have lost a second kicking option and Cleary is left carrying the full general-play load.
Cleary carries NSW kicking load
The change is stark because NSW no longer has another half who can share the long-kicking work. Cleary has effectively become the entire kicking game, which puts a different sort of pressure on his night than the one he would have faced with Moses available beside him.
That shift matters against Queensland’s spine, which includes Cameron Munster, Sam Walker, Kalyn Ponga and Harry Grant, all players who regularly handle general play kicking duties at club level. James Tedesco rarely kicks for the Roosters, and Reece Robson is not a genuine long-kicking threat, so NSW’s options are far thinner in that area.
Ethan Strange and Ethan Sanders
Ethan Strange’s role is part of the same problem. His strength is his running game, and he is still largely a back-up option when it comes to the Raiders’ game management, not the sort of half you build a kicking plan around for a State of Origin opener.
His most recent clash against Cleary’s Panthers showed that gap clearly. Strange finished with just two kicks for 33 metres, while Ethan Sanders had 21 kicks for 660 metres in the same game.
That contrast leaves NSW leaning even harder on Cleary when Queensland can spread the kicking workload across more of its spine. The Bulldogs also offered a sharp example in round six, when they rushed after Cleary all night from the inside and out and showed how hard it is to pin him down when a defense targets him early and often.
Queensland spine pressure
Without Moses, NSW’s margin for error shrinks. The Blues have one primary kicker, while Queensland can rotate pressure through several playmaking hands, and that puts every long restart, touch-finder and last-tackle decision on Cleary’s boot.
For NSW, the immediate task is simple: make that one kicking game hold up long enough to match a Queensland side built with more variety in that area. If Cleary gets boxed in the way he was in round six, the Blues will have to manage a game that no longer has Moses to share the load.
