NEWCASTLE'S high-performance staff are expected to have the final say as Bradman Best races to prove his fitness for Sunday's clash with Penrith at McDonald Jones Stadium - and hence potentially for Origin II.
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Best has been sidelined since suffering a grade-two hamstring tear during the Knights' win against Gold Coast on May 18, an injury that left him facing an estimated recovery period of about a month.
A NSW incumbent, having scored two tries on debut in game three last year to help the Blues avoid a clean sweep, Best was unavailable for last week's series opener, which Queensland won in a 38-10 landslide.
NSW's cause was not helped by the sending-off of rookie centre Joseph-Aukuso Sua'ali'i, who has since copped a four-match ban for his brutal high shot on Maroons fullback Reece Walsh.
The suspension of Sua'ali'i means that NSW coach Michael Maguire needs to find a new centre before naming his team on Sunday night for game two, to be played at the MCG on June 26.
To have any hope of selection, Best will presumably need to play - and play well - this week against the three-time champions, and while hopes are high that he will be cleared, that remains to be seen.
It is understood the 22-year-old had not resumed full training last week but was hoping to up the ante in coming days.
Knights football director Peter Parr told the Herald last week that Best would need to "hit some markers" this week before he was considered for selection, although he added: "If he's declared fit then we don't want him sitting in the grandstand."
Knights coach Adam O'Brien reiterated those sentiments after Sunday's 36-28 loss in Melbourne.
"Bradman's got to jump through a couple of hoops, but he's going pretty well I think," O'Brien said. "He's a chance to be back in the centres."
Regardless of Best's situation, Maguire has a number of options to consider.
South Sydney enigma Latrell Mitchell is a proven game-breaker on his day and bounced back to form with a dominant display in last week's 46-12 thrashing of the Titans. Canterbury's Matt Burton - 18th man in Origin I - has played twice for NSW in the centres, while Jesse Ramien (Cronulla) and Izack Tago (Penrith) are both believed to have attracted Maguire's attention.
If Best plays on Sunday, he will go head-to-head with Tago in what would be the perfect Origin audition for both players.
Best's return would, however, prompt a selection re-shuffle by O'Brien, after Dylan Lucas scored two tries as left-side centre against Melbourne.
O'Brien's other dilemma will be what to do with rookie fullback Fletcher Sharpe, if David Armstrong has overcome a quadriceps injury.
