North Queensland fullback Lachlan Coote will return from his hamstring injury through reserve grade despite being named on an extended bench for their NRL clash with Penrith.

Coote appeared set to reclaim his No.1 jumper after rejoining his NRL teammates on the training paddock for the first time on Monday since suffering a hamstring injury during the pre-season.

However Cowboys coach Paul Green said he wanted to see Coote get his match fitness playing for the Mackay Cutters in the Intrust Super Cup, possibly for the next two weeks.

“He hasn’t had a full training week for eight weeks, so I just think it’s a risk at this stage given the amount of work he’s done up until this point,” Green told reporters on Tuesday.

“Unfortunately for Cootey he’s had a pretty disrupted pre-season. He’s only played 10 minutes of footy and that was in that trial match against Melbourne.

“So I think at this stage the best thing for Cootey, as hard as it might be for him to get his head around, he probably needs to go back and play some good footy back there at Q-Cup.

“Get a couple of games under his belt, get some confidence in the hammy and I’m sure before long he’ll be back in the side.”

Green on Tuesday named an unchanged line-up from the team that lost its grand final rematch against Melbourne, with Ben Hampton remaining at fullback.

“That’s the other thing. To be fair to Ben Hampton, I think he’s done a really good job for us. For him to lose his spot, that wouldn’t necessarily be the right thing to do at this stage either,” Green said.

Green also admitted knowing little about Penrith rookie Jarome Luai, who is set to make his debut off the bench following a ten-week injury to star halfback Nathan Cleary.

Tyrone Peachey will start in the halves but is likely to be shifted for the promising playmaker.

“Obviously that’s a big blow for them losing Nathan Cleary, but we’ve got enough to worry about in our own team,” Green said of his side, who have won just one of their first three games.

“We’re looking for an improved performance on last week, regardless of who we play.”