Westpac NSW Blues centre Latrell Mitchell made an early call to rule himself out of Game Two of the Ampol State of Origin series despite having up until Sunday to prove his fitness.
NSW coach Brad Fittler praised Mitchell for his “selfless” decision yesterday before the Blues trained at the NSWRL Centre of Excellence for the must-win game at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday.
Mitchell had come into the camp under an injury cloud with a calf problem that had ruled him out of Game One and Fittler was aware that his selection was a “risk”.
“When Latrell came in, I never thought he was 100 per cent certain that he was going to be able to make it, but I think we all thought the risk was worth it,” Fittler said.
“He came in yesterday and spoke to myself and the physio. We needed to him be at a certain level today and then full training by Sunday and he just didn’t think he had that in him.
“Once again, it was good to know earlier. It was a selfless decision that allowed Stephen Crichton, who has been training all week, a little more certainty about his job and what he’s going to do.
“It was his (Mitchell’s) call, we were going to give him until Sunday. The decision more came down to him and it was just about confidence.”
Crichton was 18th man for Game One but had limited time to prepare after Mitchell suffered his calf injury with only three minutes to go of the final training session on Sunday before the game.
This time around, Crichton has been training with the team since coming into camp on day one with Mitchell’s preparation limited to light duties and running.
“It’s been easier this time because him (Mitchell) and Cam (Murray) have been on the sideline, so it’s allowed us to train other people in those positions,” Fittler said.
“It’s actually worked a lot easier than it did in Game One.”
Crichton, who was one of the Blues’ best performers in Game One after scoring a try, making a line break, three tackle busts and running for 115 metres, said he was looking forward to the challenge.
“We’re going up to Suncorp, it’s their backyard and they’re obviously going to be giving it to us, but it’s our job as players to keep a cool head and play what’s in front of us,” Crichton said.
“It will take a lot (to win), take all of our 17 players to be at our best to come away with that, and that’s what we’ll be preparing for.”
