Cameron Smith admits to being be a fan of Manly half-back Daly Cherry-Evans but says Melbourne team-mate Cooper Cronk deserves the Queensland number seven State of Origin jumper.
Smith, tipped to take over captaincy of the Maroons following Darren Lockyer's retirement, made the comments after he, Cronk and Billy Slater continued the Storm's unbeaten start to the season with a resounding 30-6 win over Gold Coast on Saturday.
Cherry-Evans, who made his representative debut for Australia against Wales in last year's Four Nations series, has been mounting a case for selection in a new-look Queensland halves pairing since longstanding half-back Johnathan Thurston declared he wanted to take over Lockyer's five-eighth duties this season.
Named the International Rugby League Federation's half-back of the year after guiding Manly to the 2011 premiership as a rookie, Cherry-Evans has started the new season where he left off.
"Cherry-Evans is a great player and I am big fan of his," Smith said after helping Cronk and a sublime Slater tear the Titans to shreds in the second half at Skilled Park.
"But Cooper's got the runs on the board and should be Queensland's number seven inside JT (Thurston)."
Smith said he had been impressed with Cherry-Evans on last year's Four Nations tour.
"He's a great young kid, very impressive and an exceptionally good talent," he said.
"But Cooper has been there - he knows what Origin is all about.
"He understands the pressure and atmosphere of Origin and what is required to play it.
"He's super competitive. He does his homework on his opposition better than anyone I know and he never lets you down."
Smith said it was a great position for the Queensland selectors to be in after losing Lockyer, the mainstay of their record six straight Origin series wins.
"Even when Locky was there with JT, we had the luxury of having Cooper as a back-up," he said.
"Now Locky's gone, we've got Cherry-Evans, who is a great prospect."
Smith said Cronk's knowledge of his and Slater's game as Storm team-mates would count in his favour when selectors named the squad for the interstate series against New South Wales with the opening game in Melbourne in May.
"We play together every week and have developed an understanding of each other's game," he said.
AAP
Tags: state-of-origin, nrl, rugby-league, sport, qld, australia First posted March 18, 2012 16:27:03
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