Laurie Daley has tipped Ethan Strange to take to the pressures of State of Origin with ease after the powerful Canberra five-eighth was rushed in to start in his NSW debut.
Blues coach Daley confirmed on Tuesday that Parramatta's Mitchell Moses had been ruled out of the series opener, paving the way for Strange to make his first Origin appearance.
Strange will line up alongside Nathan Cleary with Canterbury's Matt Burton joining the NSW six-man bench for Wednesday's game.
Moses felt his hamstring tweak at the end of the Blues' Monday morning training session in Gosford and Daley told reporters in Sydney that the injury outlook was positive, suggesting the Eels captain could return for game two at the MCG on June 17.
