Cooper Cronk will be afforded the same patience with injury that might have been given to Johnathan Thurston or Cameron Smith as Queensland try to nurse their key playmaker towards the Origin opener in Sydney.

Intrigue continues about the involvement of Cronk in game one after he rolled his ankle at training during the week. He has remained with the team at Sanctuary Cove and medical staff are cautiously confident that he will line up for the kick-off.

The Storm halfback may not enjoy the same sort of superstardom as his halves partner Thurston but Queensland officials value him no less given his proven ability as a matchwinner. Quite simply, the Maroons know they aren't the same force without him.

NSW are convinced Queensland are trying to conjure a Jedi mind trick but there is little doubt Kevin Walters could have done without this sort of disruption in his first game in charge.

And there was some more interest on Sunday, with the Maroons suggesting that should Cronk watch from the sidelines it would be front-rower Jacob Lillyman that enters the fray, not Daly Cherry-Evans, who has already returned to club side Manly.

Lillyman's addition would make it a four-forward bench as Michael Morgan would start at five-eighth. It also shows how quickly Cherry-Evans has fallen down the pecking order after failing to really grasp his chances in Origin.

Queensland assistant Trevor Gillmeister said Cronk would be given until Tuesday to prove his fitness but he could even undergo a test on the day of the game to see if he has sufficiently recovered.

"I would be very surprised if he [Cronk] didn't play," Gillmeister said. "Cooper will do everything he can. We will give him until Monday or Tuesday. The physio says he's coming along nicely. Hopefully he has enough time."

Queensland's structure would suffer as a result of Cronk's absence and he has proven to be the magic ingredient in the past, although Morgan adds a rugged line defender who carries the ball strongly.

That may be a help on its own, with Thurston saying he expected NSW to try and go 'through our front door', while Sam Thaiday was another expecting a forward-driven assault at ANZ Stadium.

"We will probably have to play a little bit different style of football – a faster, more direct style," Thaiday said. "Hopefully bringing guys like GI [Greg Inglis] into the middle as well and have Darbs [Darius Boyd] sniffing around the ruck when those big guys get tired."

Queensland captain Smith will address the media for the final time on Monday before the team flies to Sydney.