Laurie Daley loves the way Kotoni Staggs plays and will give the recalled NSW centre the license to lead the Blues' aggression against Queensland in the State of Origin series opener.
In his first Origin appearance in four years, Staggs has been named to start at centre in game one next Wednesday at Accor Stadium.
In a sign of how much Daley believes in Staggs, the Blues coach picked the Brisbane star without a lead-in game.
Staggs has not played since the start of the month after serving a two-game suspension for dropping his elbow onto the face of Hugo Savala in the Broncos' round-nine loss to the Sydney Roosters.
But Daley had no qualms in tasking Staggs with filling the void left by injured Blues star Latrell Mitchell, urging the 27-year-old Broncos centre to bring the same intensity that has made him one of the NRL's most-feared centres.
