Blues forward Tyson Frizell has declared himself a certain starter for the State of Origin series opener after he trained with his teammates for the first time since entering camp on Friday.
A cloud of doubt has hung over the Dragons second-rower's head after he came off the field in their round 11 loss to Cronulla following a nasty head knock.
Frizell has spent the past four days running his own drills, unable to take part in contact training for five days after a concussion under NRL protocols.
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It has limited his time to mesh with a new left-side combination including veteran Josh Morris and debutant Nick Cotric, however Frizell is comfortable with where his sits in the team.
“It’s not ideal. You’d love to be in amongst it,” Frizell told AAP.
“There’s a couple of new faces. I’m not unfamiliar with the way we’re playing and my role in the team. I’m lucky in that department and not many things have changed.”
The 27-year-old was spotted wearing a non-contact bib in a team session just five days out from the main event - a positive sign for his playing hopes.
The Blues camp have broken up for the weekend and will return to training on Sunday in what will be Frizell's last chance to prove his fitness.
“I’m confident I’ll be fine,” Frizell said.
“It was probably a good thing for me to chill out and peak at the right end. It’s great to get to work now.”
Tigers back-rower Ryan Matterson is on standby, called in as 18th man a day after NSW coach Brad Fittler unveiled his starting 17.
Before releasing the team sheet on Sunday, Fittler approached Frizell in the sheds at WIN Stadium to get the all clear.
"I went down and talked to 'Friz' at half-time and he wanted to go back on. I think he got cleared by the medical staff - obviously not to come back on but I think he is okay,'' Fittler said.
"I think that is his first concussion and we will just follow protocol. I am not sure when he can train but we will work that out."
