Brisbane co-captain Justin Hodges is almost certain to make his NRL return from a hamstring injury against South Sydney on Thursday night.

In a major boost to the 10th-placed Broncos, Hodges trained strongly at Red Hill on Wednesday morning, completing the hour-long session without trouble.

Coach Anthony Griffin said the veteran Test centre, 31, would definitely travel to Sydney for the clash but wanted to wait until game-day to make his final decision.

“He is old Hodgo, you have to make sure he pulls up all right so we’ll wait until tomorrow,” Griffin said.

“He’s close and he wants to play so we’ll see what happens.”

Hodges’ return would see Jack Reed move out of right centre but Griffin also admitted he was yet to decide whether Reed would revert to the bench or play on the wing.

Lachlan Maranta trained on the right wing for all of Wednesday’s session and has proven himself to be a safe option under the high ball.

Although underdogs, Griffin said Brisbane would go into the Allianz Stadium encounter with confidence following their biggest win of the year – Friday’s 41-10 thumping of Canterbury.

But he stressed they needed to be better again to overcome a Rabbitohs outfit which outmuscled Manly 23-4.

“They’re the best team in the comp, they’ve shown that over the last couple of weeks, by a mile,” Griffin said.

“The way they put Manly away last week shows what they are capable of.”