NRL: Hamstrung Daley remains upbeat

Laurie Daley. Photo / Getty Images

The odds looked stacked against New South Wales winning a first series since 2005, but coach Laurie Daley is confident his side can finally end Queensland's State of Origin stranglehold tomorrow night.

Daley enjoyed a dream start to his Blues coaching career with victory in game one but life has been far from plain sailing ever since for the 43-year-old.

The lead-up to game two saw the coach lose his fullback Jarryd Hayne to a hamstring injury in addition to star prop James Tamou and in-form winger Blake Ferguson because of suspensions for off-field incidents.

Tamou is back for game three after his drink-driving conviction but Ferguson is suspended indefinitely and will stand trial at Waverley Court today after being charged with indecent assault.

Hayne is still sidelined but last Friday Daley received the news he was dreading, when inspirational skipper Paul Gallen was forced to admit defeat in his race to recover from a foot injury received in game two.

Daley concedes his side faces a mammoth task in halting the Queensland juggernaut, but with home advantage at a sold-out ANZ Stadium and the confidence gained from success in the series opener, they can give their long-suffering fans something to cheer about.

"Queensland are a champion side, they have future immortals and for us it's about just trying to get a good performance in," Daley said yesterday. "It's been a long time and the players have been aware of that.

"But if you would have told me at the start of the year it was 1-1 and we're back in Sydney for the decider, I would have taken it."

The withdrawal of Gallen immediately saw Queensland become overwhelming favourites to make it eight in a row and Daley is comfortable going into the game as underdogs.

Boyd Cordner, 21, is named on the interchange bench for his first game after the injury to Gallen.

The Sydney Roosters back-rower is rated as the best young forward in the NRL and was labelled by many as a future Origin player when he was just 16.

"He has a maturity like no one I have seen," said Daley.

- AAP