On the eve of his breakout State of Origin II masterclass, Mitchell Moses told NSW coach Michael Maguire that the left foot injury that had sidelined him for most of the season would prevent him from taking up the goal-kicking duties. “The foot’s fine, but I just didn’t even try,” Moses said afterwards. “Zac [Lomax] has been hitting them well.
” Thankfully, there was nothing wrong with his right foot. There are a multitude of reasons why NSW was able to so comprehensively defeat the Maroons at the MCG to level the series. There was the dominance of the Blues engine room, the winning of just about every play-the-ball and the obligatory flashes of brilliance from Latrell Mitchell and Lomax.
But the single biggest factor in the result was the kicking game of Moses. Conscripted after Nicho Hynes - albeit in a team containing just 12 for almost the duration - was unable to impose himself in the series opener, the Parramatta halfback put on a masterclass for the ages. On 13 occasions, Moses put boot to ball.
Just about every time, he found his mark. The very first kick set the tone for the night. Maguire identified superstar Queensland fullback Reece Walsh as the danger man.
So the plan was hatched to take away his kick-reception game. It’s why Moses kicked almost exclusively to Murray Taulagi. It was the start of a torrid night for the Maroons left winger, who was constantly forced to bring the ball back from deep within his own half.
As Murray kept having to field ki.
