Cricket
Racing
Rugby
League
Motorsport
Football
Golf
Combat Sports
Basketball
Tennis
Other Sports
Sport Nation
Why Cleary and Moses can park 'egos' to spark NSW magic
Scott Bailey & George Clarke, AAP • May 20th, 2025 4:18 pm
Photo: Dean Lewins/AAP
Mitchell Moses is downplaying concerns over his ability to take a backseat to Nathan Cleary as NSW roll out an unproven and ball-dominant halves pairing for the State of Origin series opener.
Despite being the two leading eligible Blues playmakers over the last five NRL seasons, Moses and Cleary will play Origin together for the first time on May 28 at Suncorp Stadium.
It's a partnership that has NSW dreaming of a second-straight series victory, given Moses' exploits in rescuing the Blues last year and Cleary's dominance on the way to a fourth-straight premiership with Penrith.
But the major concern will be how the pair balance their playmaking responsibilities when both are the leading men for their respective clubs and halfbacks who touch the ball so frequently.
Star halfbacks Nathan Cleary and Mitchell Moses prior to the Penrith-Parramatta NRL decider in 2022 | Photo: Dan Himbrechts/AAP
"At the end of the day you want to put your best foot forward for the team, egos won't get in the way of that," Cleary said.
The Panthers star was named halfback by NSW coach Laurie Daley in a sign he will be the star-studded Blues' organiser in chief, while Moses will don the No.6 jersey for the first time since he was playing for Wests Tigers in 2017.
"He is the No. 7 - that excites me a fair bit," Moses said.
"I've never been able to play that (five-eighth) role, well I actually have at the Tigers when I was playing five-eighth in my early days.
"But I haven't been able to in a while, that excites me for him to be the dominant halfback and I can pick my opportunities.
"Any time you can play with a player of his calibre it's massive."
Where the balance of power lies will be particularly noticeable when NSW end their sets.
As Daley noted, the duo's kicking game will be able to rescue a bad set.
Cleary lags just behind Moses, who leads the competition for average kick metres in the NRL this season.
The pair also have a variety of floaters, grubbers and crossfield kicks that could cause plenty of problems for the Maroons.
"It's crucial (to have two great kickers) and it's a hard thing to stop," Moses said.
"But we have to work out what is best for us and what works best for us. We'll go to work with that and get it sorted."
Moses' presence should ease the pressure on Cleary, who despite Penrith's struggles this season has been a shining light as the Panthers look to fight their way back into finals contention.
Only Mitchell Pearce and Andrew Johns have worn the Blues No. 7 jersey more times than the Penrith co-captain, but the knock on Cleary remains that he has yet to dominate an Origin series.
"I'm looking forward to the partnership … it's about us working out how we want to get the ball and in which situations, and obviously the kicking game helps on both sides of the ruck," Cleary said.
"It's about complementing each other's game and making sure we bring the best out of each other."
