Aaron Woods says he’s preparing to play in the State of Origin decider although deep down hopes he’ll be 18th man for NSW next Wednesday.
The Wests Tigers prop had a tough baptism on his debut in Brisbane in game two when he deputised for James Tamou as the Blues were dominated by a fire-up Queensland side.
Woods, 22, will take Paul Gallen’s spot in the side should the Blues skipper fail to come through Friday’s training session where he’ll attempt to run for the first time since injuring his left foot in game two in Brisbane on June 26.
“I think Gal will play and as a NSW fan I hope he does,” Woods told AAP.
“I am preparing like I am going to play in training and even if I don’t, the experience of being alongside all these great players is great for me.”
Coach Laurie Daley said he’ll make a decision on Gallen’s availability after training in Coogee on Friday but admits he may have to make a tough call and leave out his talismanic skipper.
“After he runs I will get a fair indication as to where is up to,” Daley said.
“At this stage I wouldn’t be able to tell you. We’ll see how he is tomorrow.”
Daley is looking to become only the second man to lead NSW to victory in a series decider in Sydney after Phil Gould, who achieved the feat in his two different stints in 1992 and 2004.
The 44-year-old said his decision to name an extended squad with Woods and Boyd Cordner remaining in camp until game day means his interchange bench was not set in stone.
But he said it was unlikely either would be added to the bench at the expense of Josh Reynolds as a precaution should Gallen be passed fit.
“If one or two are out then we may have to have a rethink but I haven’t spoken to Josh about it, and we think we know where we are,” he said.
Gallen and Greg Bird went through some light stretching and stepping on Thursday with team doctor Nathan Gibbs confirming the Gold Coast back-rower is on course to play at ANZ Stadium.
Bird reported to camp on Monday with his foot in a protective boot having sustained ankle ligament damage in his left ankle against Penrith last Saturday.
“We still have to do a bit more contact work with him but considering he couldn’t walk at all on Monday it’s been a good turnaround and a very good indicator that he’ll be fit,” Gibbs said.
“He had a lot of bleeding around the ankle which was making it quite painful, but once that resolved, the actual injury itself is OK.”
“The plan was always to do a bit of running with Gal tomorrow (Friday), but he did some stepping and walking today and he wasn’t too bad at all.
“We’ll see how he pulls up after tomorrow but I would like to see him do more than he did today … he’s still not out of the woods yet but I reckon they are both ahead of schedule.”
