NSW halfback Mitchell Moses has offered his support to Nicho Hynes after his State of Origin axing, labelling the ousted Blues No. 7 a media “scapegoat”. After playing in a Blues outfit that was reduced to 12 men for 72 minutes in game one, Hynes was a victim of a ruthless squad shake-up overseen by Michael Maguire as the NSW coach bids to save the series.
” Maguire has been a longstanding fan of Moses and would likely have given him the No. 7 jersey for game one, were it not for the Parramatta playmaker missing two months of NRL action with a foot injury. Moses has looked solid if unspectacular in his three hit-outs for the Eels but insisted there were no lingering fitness concerns. After a testing season for 15th-placed Parramatta, Moses described the prospect of entering NSW camp as a “breath of fresh air”.