Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon says star halfback Nicho Hynes is a "good chance" of returning from calf tightness this week, but stressed he wouldn't rush his chief playmaker just to give him another chance to impress State of Origin selectors.
Hynes missed last week's stirring win in Melbourne but has been named for the Magic Round showdown with the Roosters on Saturday night.
"We've got to get through today, but I'd suggest he's a good chance," Fitzgibbon said.
"He got through a bit of work the other day and progressed a little more yesterday, so at this stage we're confident, but we want to tick every box to make sure he's fully fit before we put him out there."
While his return would be a huge boost for the Sharks, Blues fans would also love to see Hynes back in action with the team for game one set to be announced after next week's matches.
Hynes lived out a childhood dream last year when he made his Origin debut, but it didn't pan out as he'd planned, with the halfback forced to come on late at centre and was then dropped for the final two games.
The former Dally M winner has roared back into contention with Nathan Cleary and Adam Reynolds unavailable for the series, while Parramatta's Mitchell Moses hasn't played since round 3 and is no guarantee to be back next week.
A strong performance against the Roosters would strengthen Hynes' chances of a recall, but Fitzgibbon said the half's health trumps any thought of simply picking him so he can impress new Blues coach Michael Maguire.
"My only concern with Nicho is getting him healthy to play for the Sharks," Fitzgibbon said.
"There is a lot of talk about him for Origin, and it would be fantastic to see him earn a spot, but we'll be making sure he's fully fit before we put him out there.
"There's always an element of risk in the sport that we play, but we're confident in our medical team that if we put him out there that he'll be right to go.
"I think he'd love another crack.
"We've had some discussions, but we're primarily focused on playing for the Sharks and playing well.
"If he's not doing his job at the right level for the Sharks, he won't be playing Origin anyway.
"It's a nice motivator to have someone searching for something and building towards representative footy, and I'm sure everyone would like to play, so I'm using that as a motivation, but his focus is definitely for the Sharks and he's been clear on that."
Braydon Trindall is on standby should Hynes be ruled out, with the Sharks looking to make it nine wins from their opening 10 matches against another competition heavyweight.
"As it stands, we haven't really achieved anything. We feel like we're improving, but we're not where we need to be," Fitzgibbon said.
"There are some elite clubs that have been up the top of the tree for a long period of time and know what it takes, and we're trying to get to that level. Whether we're there or not remains to be seen."
Martin Gabor - NCA NewsWire
