The NSW Origin hero brought in to test out Blues’ goal-line defence

“They’ve got so many leaders in their team. They’ve got X-factor on both edges, and the spine is very calm.

“We watched them do their edge-on-edge stuff – their left side versus their right side – And just a couple of sessions in, they look so crisp and so connected. It looked like they had been playing together a while. The speed of their ball movement was also unreal.”

Fullback Dylan Edwards has the job of organising the defensive line, which is never easy when players are expected to gel in a short amount of time.

“It’s a bit of a challenge because you have players from different clubs and different systems, and that’s our focus at the moment, our defence,” Edwards said.

“Luckily there were a lot of boys here from last year, so there’s a bit of familiarity there.

Edwards added Mitchell Moses defended well on the left side of the field, even though he has spent most of his career playing on the right side.

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Having won an Origin series under Daley, Jennings said of the returning Blues coach: “He’s been around that arena, and knows exactly how to get players ready. When I played under him, I felt safe and really calm going into games.”

The Blues will have Friday off, complete their main session at Blue Mountains Grammar on Saturday – when Payne Haas is expected to test out his injured quad for the first time – before flying to Brisbane on Sunday.

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