Knights forward Tyson Frizell is expected to take a place in the NSW side for Origin II despite suffering a neck injury in Newcastle's 24-20 loss to Brisbane.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The back-rower, a near certainty for the must-win game on Wednesday week given his performance in the series-opener, hurt his neck in the first half at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.
The 31-year-old played on but came off five minutes after half-time before returning to the action with 13 minutes left in the game.
NSW already have the odds stacked against them to level the Origin series in Brisbane, and in the past week have lost halfback Nathan Cleary and hooker Api Koroisa to injury.
The loss of Frizell would be another unwanted blow for Blues coach Brad Fittler as he tries to engineer an unlikely upset at Suncorp.
The Origin sides are due to be officially named Monday night but Knights coach Adam O'Brien said Frizell would be right to play.
"He just jarred up his neck," O'Brien said.
"Half-time stiffened it up.
"The physios were working on it, but he is not in any danger or doubt. It will settle back down. He went back on, so that was a good sign. He will be fine for Origin."
Frizell, who is off contract at the end of this season and attracting interest from multiple clubs, the latest being Canterbury, still played 59 minutes in Brisbane but his injury proved a slight disruption to Newcastle's planned interchange rotation.
Dylan Lucas, who O'Brien brought into the side 24 hours before the game after Lachlan Fitzgibbon succumbed to a calf injury, ended up playing 73 minutes.
The 22-year-old rookie was only making his second NRL appearance and started in the back-row - a position he only recently moved to.
"That was a bit of a shock to the system," Lucas said of his game time in a post-match interview.
"Obviously I've been playing 80 [minutes] in [NSW] Cup, but that was a different kettle of fish out there.
"Just the the speed of the game. There's no plays off here, if you have a play off they're coming at you.
"It's just staying in the game and being in the moment for 80 minutes.
"It's tough, but I loved every minute of it. I can't wait to do plenty more."
One of three players who debuted for the Knights in round three, Lucas made eight runs for 64 metres on Saturday and broke two tackles. In defence, he made 35 tackles but missed six.
O'Brien hailed the side's Origin prospects in Dane Gagai and the Saifiti brothers. Gagai had a hand in two tries, made three line-breaks and was strong defensively.
Daniel Saifiti made 179 metres form 17 runs over 59 minutes, while Jacob, who started from the bench, recorded 147 metres from 14 runs in a 38-minute effort.
"None of them have kicked stones," O'Brien said of his players who weren't picked for Origin I. "They're really committed to Newcastle and wanting to make something of our season. The ladder position isn't saying that we've made progress, but I think it's pretty clear that we have in a lot of areas in our footy. It's largely due to those guys."
