Parramatta Eels Star Puts His Hand Up To Make His State Of Origin Debut

Mitchell Moses says he's more than ready to step into Nathan Cleary's shoes and play halfback for New South Wales in State of Origin Game 3.

In the wake of Cleary's potential season-ending shoulder injury, Parramatta Eels star Moses has now put his hand up to make his Blues debut, confirming that he's happy to chat if Brad Fittler gives him a ring.

"You'd like to think so," Moses told reporters when asked if he was ready to pull on the legendary Blues jumper for the very first time.

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"If I wasn't more than ready by now I'd be kicking myself.

"It's completely up to Freddy and what direction he wants to go.

"We've got a big test this week against Penrith and that's my full focus.

"If you look too far ahead on those types of things it can affect your footy."

Just a short 24 hours after New South Wales clinched the Origin series with a 26-0 victory at Suncorp Stadium, news broke that the Blues' main man Cleary had injured his shoulder pretty badly and required surgery to fix it.

Reports suggested Cleary would be ruled out of Game 3 as well as the rest of the NRL season if he was to go under the knife.

In good news for Penrith Panthers fans, it was later revealed that their star No.7 wouldn't undergo surgery meaning he'd be available come NRL Finals time.

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He is, however, definitely sidelined for Origin Game 3 against Queensland which means Blues head coach Brad Fittler needs to pick a new halfback who can fill the void left by Cleary's absence.

And there's a bloke in Sydney's west who he's worked closely with in the past.

"He (Fittler) coached me in that World Cup side when I was playing for Lebanon," Moses added.

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"I got along with him really well and loved playing underneath him. He was massive for my game back then.

"He's a good operator and what he's done with the Blues this year, the footy they're playing is unbelievable, they're all on the same page. It's a credit to him.

"They're just playing with a lot of energy and everyone knows their role, that's the biggest thing. Everyone is in sync, it looked like a team that's been training all year."

Moses' form suggest he stands in good stead for a call-up, although most people would expect Fittler to reshuffle Jarome Luai into halfback which would make way for Dally M Medallist Jack Wighton in the No.6 jersey.

Topics: Injury news, nrl, Australia

Max Sherry

Max Sherry is a journalist for SPORTbible Australia. After migrating Down Under from London as a teenager, he instantly fell in love with Aussie sport and its culture. From NRL to AFL, cricket to rugby — you name it, Max watches it (with a beer in hand, of course). During his time at Fox Sports, he worked in the football department covering the Premier League, A-League, Socceroos and Matildas. Born a stone's throw away from West Ham's training ground, Max is obviously a die-hard Liverpool fan.

@maxysherry