Queensland has produced a miraculous production line of natural-born leaders. The DNA of a Maroons captain might as well have been patented: huge heart, unapologetic passion, brute strength and indisputable craftsmanship in the art of playing football. Glorified immortals Arthur Beetson OAM and Wally Lewis, followed by shrewd orchestrators the likes of Darren Lockyer and Cameron Smith, started their Origin journey early. Once selected, these 30-plus Origin capped cult heroes were there to stay.
Like all good fairy tales, it was inevitable that Queensland would eventually face a changing of the guard. For successive seasons, it seemed a matter of how many would bow out, and when. The Maroons administration, who had for 12 years ridden a victory tidal wave, suddenly found itself in unchartered waters in 2018. The accolades went south, the wheels of fortune came to an abrupt halt, and the best Queensland could do was to score a consolation victory in a final, dead rubber.
Fast-forward to 2019. Queensland selectors were compelled not only to roll the dice on a revised squad, but take an even bigger gamble on who would be its leader. With last year’s captain Greg Inglis succumbing to a premature retirement in April, the debate of who was the heir apparent surfaced and quickly intensified. With seemingly no standout replacement, the Maroons faithful were buoyed last week by rumours of former captain and four-time Wally Lewis medal-winning hooker Cameron Smith coming out of retirement to save the northern state’s Origin hopes.
Behind the scenes, coach Kevin Walters and his selectors had devised a plan. At the team’s announcement on Monday night, Daly Cherry-Evans – the 30-year-old veteran with only seven Origin berths to his name since debuting in 2013 – was named the man to succeed Inglis. Taking into account that DCE, as he is widely known, is currently injured and has not taken the field since round seven, this was always going to be been seen by some as one hell of an unlikely promotion.
Before his well-documented ankle injury, DCE had forged a long history of displeasing the Maroons fold. Misalignment with some of Queensland’s biggest stars and officials had reportedly led to him being overlooked in recent years. And then there was the last-minute contract backflip in 2016 which would have made Cherry-Evans a Gold Coast Titans player, a decision which left the Queensland army seething.
A product of Redcliffe, a Queensland league heartland, Cherry-Evans took up residency on Sydney’s Northern Beaches to be a part of the former ‘silvertails’, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles since 2011. In his early career, the No 7 was also touted for having a penchant for putting personal success ahead of the team’s. It was a perception that was difficult to shift.
However, having to prove himself is nothing new for DCE. From the days that he was pitted behind the likes of Matt Orford and Trent Hodkinson at Manly to being third in the pecking order for Queensland (behind Cooper Cronk and Ben Hunt), the determined half knows how to grit it out.
The Cherry-Evans appointment isn’t just a new chapter for Queensland State of Origin; it’s a very bold statement. This is someone who has been out of favour more often than not, someone who is a New South Welshman every other day of the year. History says Queensland doesn’t appoint a captain for a season. The Maroons thrive off shared inspiration and a leader who is central to this ideology.
“He’s had his knockers over the years and it has shown great character to come back from that and play the football he has been playing,” said coach Walters in support of the resurrected Cherry-Evans. “That shows really strong character in a person, and that is the person we want leading the Maroons in 2019.”
DCE echoes a similar sentiment: “You can’t make everyone happy. You need to have strong beliefs in who you want to be as a person and a player and you don’t falter from that.”
It’s wise words from the Manly captain and soon-to-be 15th captain of Queensland. This year, Origin could see the making of an unlikely hero; one who rose to the top through the graciousness of waiting his turn.