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The Canberra Raiders will take a cautious approach with wrecking ball Josh Papalii, who could play NRL less than 48 hours after the State of Origin opener.
Canberra won't force Josh Papalii to play the Wests Tigers less than 48 hours after the State of Origin opener, if the Maroons prop is banged up in Brisbane.
Papalii will face his Raiders teammates Nick Cotric and Jack Wighton in game one on Wednesday night, and then the trio must be cleared by club medical staff to play NRL on Friday.
Blues winger Cotric and bench utility Wighton are expected to play, but Papalii could be touch-and-go after already racking up big minutes for Canberra this season.
The fifth-placed Green Machine have been ravaged by injury in 2019 and veteran forward Sia Soliola backed the Origin stars to deliver if called upon, but emphasised their health came first.
"The hardest one will be Papa because he's in the middle and in the heat of things so we'll have to check on him but Jack and Nick, they'll be buzzing and have a lot of energy after this camp," Soliola said.
"This is great experience for them (as debutants) but Papa is a veteran and one of the Maroons most experienced guys, so I dare say we'll look at him and see how he pulls up.
"He's already played some massive minutes for us in the middle and has been one of our best.
"They're all quality players but we still want to look out for them first and foremost."
Canberra winger Jordan Rapana (knee) returns from injury, while Papalii provisionally replaces Corey Horsburgh (elbow) and Emre Gzuler joins the bench for the suspended for Hudson Young.
Soliola backed the club's depth reckoning "the only difference is the faces", a view endorsed by halfback Sam Williams.
"We're starting to sound like a broken record but the depth we have in the squad and the work we do in the pre-season, these are the times it comes to fruition," Williams said.
"We need people to step up and replace blokes. It's another opportunity for some other blokes and I think everyone is pretty excited to go around again on Friday night."
