Queensland assistant coach Josh Hannay says Maroons coaching staff will assess Wednesday's State of Origin opener for when to employ Selwyn Cobbo, with outside noise around their bench setup contrasting to confidence inside camp.

Billy Slater's decision to opt for outside utility Cobbo, and how the 21-year-old will feature, alongside reserve hooker Harry Grant at interchange has been a major talking point against regularly favoured Origin tactics heavy on forward pack options.

Speaking to media on Wednesday, Hannay said "we feel that Selwyn on the bench is best suited for our team".

"We've got a lot of contingencies in place around how to best inject Selwyn," he said.

"There's a lot of flexibility within our team...when and where he comes into the game, I think the State of Play will dictate that...but we certainly got some ideas around that."

It comes after Queensland coach Billy Slater kept his card's close to his chest on the plans around Cobbo, but backed the young gun to have an impact in front of a packed Sydney crowd.

"There doesn't have to be an injury for Selwyn to be on the field, he will be out there. I'm looking forward to him getting his game on," Slater said.

"He is a big body and a wonderful player, so he may pop up anywhere."

Hannay said has a history which suggests any risk taken is calculated.

"It may look risky externally, but internally we certainly feel good about our bench," he said.

The two-time Queensland representative later added "time will tell" on the decision.

"Whoever wins gets the last laugh...if we come away with the result, everyone will laud our bench, if we don't, everyone will laud their bench," he said.

After his debut campaign across all three matches in 2022, Cobbo scored his first try in state colours in game one last year before missing the remainder of the series with injury.

Another returning star to the young Queensland setup is Broncos fullback Reece Walsh in the No.1 jersey.

Earlier this week, the Maroons skipper praised Walsh as "a special player" saying he held no concerns around him bringing his passion into the game after a flare up with NSW Blues half Jarome Luai last year.

Hannay was confident Walsh will have "16 mates out there" beside him should the NSW crowd get hostile.

"One thing I've learned about Reece....is he's obviously a really confident kid, but he's a very level headed young guy. And I think he's shown in his short career that he's got an ability to handle the big stage," Hannay said.

Hannay gave a final bit of insight into the visitors secret weapon.

"Our connection to state is our superpower...we play for our people and we'll play for our people again tonight," he said.