Hodkinson, who led NSW to their only series win of the past 10 years in 2014, is in danger of losing the No.7 jersey he has worn in the past six Origins after a drop in form since joining the struggling Knights from Canterbury this season.

In his favour is the fact that the Blues are so desperate for halves that Mitchell Pearce, who played five-eighth last year, is favourite for the halfback role after just two matches back for Sydney Roosters from an eight-match suspension for his behaviour after an Australia Day harbour cruise with team-mates.

Pearce starred in his return game against Newcastle two weeks ago and was solid but not spectacular in Monday night's 26-6 loss to Gold Coast and will not get another opportunity to impress NSW coach Laurie Daley as the Roosters next game against the Bulldogs is at the same time on Sunday that the Blues line-up will be finalised ahead of Monday's announcement.

Daley has a side in his mind for Origin I but he is believed to be undecided between the winning 2014 pairing of Hodkinson and his former Canterbury halves partner Josh Reynolds or Pearce and ex-Roosters five-eighth James Maloney, who now plays for Cronulla.

Maloney is arguably the form NSW-eligible playmaker this season after leading the Sharks into second place on the NRL ladder and he has previously played Origin after partnering Pearce at the Blues scrum base in 2013 before the pair were axed the following season for Hodkinson and Reynolds.

Hodkinson has been battling an ongoing knee problem for much of this season and missed last Sunday's 62-0 loss to Cronulla after suffering a knock at training in the lead up to the match but was named on Tuesday to play against the Tigers at Campbelltown Stadium this Saturday.

Newcastle officials said Hodkinson had got through a rehabilitation session on Monday and would join the team at training on Wednesday to prove his fitness for the match which may determine his Origin fate.

According to Champion Data, Hodkinson has run the ball just 3.3 times per match in his nine matches for the Knights this season - the least of all NSW halves contenders, including South Sydney's Adam Reynolds, Canberra's Aidan Sezer and Cronulla's Chad Townsend.

He is also the lowest for line breaks (.44 per game) and tackle breaks (.11 per game) and second lowest for try assists (.44 per game) and line-break assists (.33 per game).

However, Daley remains staunchly loyal to Hodkinson after he sealed the 2014 series win by taking on the Queensland defensive line to score the only try of the second match and converting to give the Blues a 6-4 win at ANZ Stadium and he asked members of his NSW staff to this week check on the fitness of the 27-year-old for Origin I.

If Hodkinson has a big game against the Tigers on Saturday he may convince Daley to stick by him when the team for Origin I is named on Monday.

Meanwhile, Tigers captain Robbie Farah has been ruled out of this weekend's game with concussion but will be fit for Origin in a boost for the Blues after they were belted 52-6 without him in last year's series decider at Suncorp Stadium.

Former Manly hooker Matt Ballin replaces Farah in the Tigers team after being called on to the interchange bench for his NRL debut with the club.