Coach Brad Fittler has defended his decision to move hooker Damien Cook to centre after Tom Trbojevic was injured in the opening minutes of NSW's loss to Queensland in State of Origin II.
In the third minute of the Maroons' 32-6 win at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday, Trbojevic plunged into Queensland fullback Reece Walsh as the Blues scrambled to contain an early attack.
The Manly fullback reeled out of the contact in clear discomfort and left the field with a trainer, later to be diagnosed with a right pectoral injury.
The injury forced Fittler to re-think his plans, with back-up hooker Cook introduced earlier than anticipated and played out of position for the rest of the game.
At 178cm tall and with a stocky hooker's build, Cook is not a typical centre, and generally had a tough night in the unfamiliar position.
He scored the Blues' only try, crossing in the second half, but struggled for chemistry with his outside man Josh Addo-Carr.
Three of the Maroons' four second-half tries came down Cook's edge, including a spilled high ball from the replacement that Jeremiah Nanai pounced on for a try.
Blues lock Isaah Yeo began his career at centre, while Cameron Murray played there in his schoolboy rugby days, but Fittler defended his decision to plump for Cook.
"I spoke to Cookie that ... he would have to play centre if someone went down," Fittler said
"He did a great job."
As luck would have it, Fittler had carried utility back Nicho Hynes on his bench in the first game of the series, only to face criticism the Cronulla halfback was underused.
"I'm not going to talk about interchanges, I'm not going to talk about who we chose," Fittler said.
"You can't cover every position."
The injury was the latest in a string of setbacks for Trbojevic, who also tore his pectoral muscle in 2019 and has battled recurrent shoulder and hamstring issues.
The Manly fullback is set for scans this week, with similar setbacks typically requiring months rather than weeks on the sidelines.
"There's a good chance he's not going to play many more games this year," Fittler said.
"It would've been a bit more interesting if he was out there, he's a strike player.
"But I've got to hand it to their defence, very rarely did we look like we were going to break them and score tries."
Not only did Trbojevic's withdrawal push Cook into the centre but NSW debutant hooker Reece Robson was forced to play the entire game rather than sharing duties as planned.
"It had huge impact," Fittler said.
"It changes the way you (use) your interchange and what we were trying to do."
Stephen Crichton, who switched from right centre to left after the loss of Trbojevic, said NSW could have made things easier for Cook.
"He's pretty hard on himself," Crichton told AAP.
"I told him straight away, it's not his fault. It's a whole team thing.
"He's not used to being out there on the edge and seeing that many numbers.
"We could've helped him a lot more."
