Queensland skipper Daly Cherry-Evans is backing Harry Grant to step up in Origin I despite the Storm rake not playing a full 80 minutes at hooker in a match since last September.
Just when they thought they had seen everything in an Origin build-up that had already featured fitness concerns and Dane Gagai going down with tonsillitis, the Maroons were forced to add St George Illawarra playmaker Ben Hunt as cover on Monday after Parramatta No.9 Reed Mahoney went down with a shoulder complaint.
Despite being hit by yet another injury, Cherry-Evans said Hunt's last minute inclusion won't change anything for a Queensland 17 he claims is "all good" for Wednesday's State of Origin opener in Townsville.
Grant has trained strongly, shaking off concerns about his hamstring injury. He has not played a full match since his last on-loan outing for the Wests Tigers in round 20 of 2020.
"I think he will be up to it. You don't muck around with those sorts of injuries," Cherry-Evans said.
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"Watching him train over the last couple of days I don't see anything holding him back on Wednesday night."
Cherry-Evans joked a Queensland Origin preparation wouldn't be the same without fitness dramas but gave his team the green light to run out 1-17.
"Well we have to give you guys something to do don't we?," he laughed.
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"But that's certainly not our intention. Everyone wants to have the perfect camp but sometimes that is hard to do.
"Gags was a bit crook but we are all good. Reed would love to come back in but he can't.
"These are little things along the way, but as for our preparation it has been really strong. We will take a lot of confidence on the plane up to Townsville today."
In a blow for not only Queensland but also NRL top three outfit the Eels, Mahoney could be sidelined for up to four weeks with a partially dislocated shoulder suffered in Sunday's 40-4 romp at Newcastle after being released from the Maroons squad to play.
Mahoney was set to return to the Queensland squad on Monday as back-up for Grant, who has not played for a month due to a hamstring niggle.
Asked how much Hunt's arrival would change their preparation, Cherry-Evans said: "Not much, to be completely honest.
"Ben is coming in as cover. The squad is pretty settled as to how we are going to play this coming Wednesday. It would be great to have [Mahoney] in but as to our preparation it is not a distraction."
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Hunt was initially overlooked, marking the first time he was not in the Maroons squad in four years but earned a last minute call-up after featuring in the Dragons' big win over Brisbane on Thursday night.
Cheery-Evans said Gagai had bounced back after laying low in recent days at their Gold Coast camp.
"He is up and about which is good to see. He was a bit crook which wasn't ideal for his preparation but we had cover at the squad so we didn't miss a beat at training but he is a welcome addition on Wednesday," he said.
Meanwhile, Cherry-Evans hoped there would be a "gentleman's agreement" among players not to milk penalties in game one amid the NRL's high contact crackdown.
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There has been a perceived rise in players feigning injury and playing for penalties after high contact since the crackdown but Cherry-Evans hoped it would not infiltrate Origin.
"I think it will be a gentleman's agreement, to be honest. As players we all know what Origin is about," he said.
"We all know what it means to each other, to the fans, to the game. We are playing a very heavy contact sport. When we go out on Wednesday I think everyone is going to put everything out there and I don't think there will be too much of that sort of play going on.
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"If someone wanted to do that [milk penalties], that is fine but I think Origin is a different beast.
"I think everyone is looking forward to just playing their hardest and toughest ... and not too many people staying down to be honest."
Asked if he hoped officials would be more lenient on high contact in game one, Cherry-Evans said: "You don't want to put pressure on the referees.
"If there is foul play obviously any player will agree that they have to act on that. But for those accidental shots, those that brush past with high contact, it would be great to see that refereed as a penalty ideally.
"The product of Origin is amazing. I don't want to come off talking about referees - I don't think that is fair to them.
"They have been under a lot of scrutiny this year, so hopefully we can let the footy do the talking as players.
"We want the product to be spoken about ... not about what is going wrong in the game."
