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Cherry-Evans’ chance to shine, says Cronk

Getty

Getty

Australia’s must-win Four Nations clash with England is a chance for Daly Cherry-Evans to finally prove himself as a representative playmaker, says his Kangaroos halves partner Cooper Cronk.

Since making his representative debut for the Kangaroos in 2011, before he had played State of Origin, Cherry-Evans has been stuck behind long established duo Cronk and Johnathan Thurston for both Australia and Queensland.

But with Thurston sidelined from the end of season tournament with a shoulder injury, Cherry-Evans has the chance to help spearhead a Kangaroos win over England at AAMI Park on Sunday to keep their Four Nations hopes alive.

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“This is an opportunity for him. He has been waiting a long time to have a crack at a position he prefers to play,” Cronk said at training.

“He is obviously very excited. He wants to play well, he wants to make up for what happened last week.”

Cherry-Evans has played predominantly off the bench as a utility for Queensland and Australia.

Last week in the 30-12 loss to New Zealand, Cherry-Evans, starting in the Kangaroos halves for the first time, was forced from the field due to a hip injury and didn’t return.

He has spent the lead-up to the showdown with England recovering from the injury but trained strongly at the Kangaroos final training session on Saturday and is expected to play.

The Manly premiership winner flew back to Sydney mid-week for the birth of his second child in a further disruption to his preparation.

With Cronk sidelined with an arm problem for Origin II this year, Cherry-Evans partnered with Thurston in the Maroon halves but couldn’t prevent a Blues series win.

Despite his limited preparation, Cronk believes Cherry-Evans is ready for the pressure cooker of the must-win Test.

“He will be fine,” Cronk said.

“Our combination is fine but it is not perfect. We would love to be able to spend all the time together and have played a lot of football but the situation is that his role has been different the last few of years.”

Australia’s vulnerability up front was brutally exposed by the Kiwis and Cronk said he expects England to also target the Kangaroos in the middle third, with the Burgess twins Tom and George and captain James Graham leading the way.

Cronk knows the pressure Australia are under as they seek to avoid missing the final of a major tournament for the first time since the inaugural World Cup in 1954.

“Obviously that is the reality of it. We are not going to shy away from it, roll the sleeves up, get the hard work done and get the result that we are after,” Cronk said.

“We will do everything possible in our power to play the best football we can and hopefully the result will take care of itself.”

AAP

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