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Maroons coach Billy Slater will anxiously wait to learn if Storm hooker Harry Grant returns this weekend after he was one of four Origin stars named to make comebacks in Round 11 matches. 

Grant, Roosters prop Lindsay Collins and Canberra forward Corey Horsburgh are all in strong contention for the Queensland team to host NSW in Origin I on May 28 at Suncorp Stadium.

Blues winger Zac Lomax was named in the centres for Parramatta but needs to pass a fitness test on his broken foot before being cleared to play in Friday night's match against Newcastle.

Collins (knee) and Horsburgh (concussion) are both expected to play before Monday's announcement of the Queensland team, but Grant's availability is less certain.

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Bold strategy, Harry

The Storm captain has been sidelined since Round 7 with a hamstring injury sustained at training on the eve of the Easter Friday clash with the Dolphins and was named among the reserves for Saturday night's trip to Cronulla.

Storm officials said Grant would need to pass a series of fitness tests this week to be available for selection against the Sharks.

If Grant fails to play, Slater is expected to turn to Bulldogs hooker Reed Mahoney for Origin I after Ben Hunt was ruled out for up to six weeks with a hamstring injury sustained in Brisbane's loss to Souths last weekend.

Collins has been out since suffering medial ligament damage in the Round 5 match against the Rabbitohs but has been named on the interchange for Friday night's clash with the Bulldogs.

The Test prop is considered a certain Maroons selection if fit after playing the last nine Origins in succession and all three matches of the 2020 series.

Horsburgh made his Origin debut in 2023 but was overlooked for last year's series after falling out of favour in Canberra but he has returned this season fitter than ever and been a key player in the rise of the Raiders.

A trimmed down Corey Horsburgh is in line for a Maroons recall in Origin I.
A trimmed down Corey Horsburgh is in line for a Maroons recall in Origin I. ©David Hossack/NRL Photos

The 27-year-old prop missed last weekend's top of the table clash with the Bulldogs due to the NRL's strict concussion protocols after failing a HIA in Magic Round but will return on Sunday against the Titans.

It is expected that Slater would welcome Grant, Collins and Horsburgh into the Queensland team but the availability of Lomax is set to present NSW coach Laurie Daley with a selection dilemma.

Lomax has not played since defying a small fracture in his foot to kick an extra-time field goal against his former club, the Dragons, in Round 5.

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Zac Lomax wins it for the Eels

With Penrith's Brian To'o only returning last week from a nagging hamstring injury, it is understood that Daley is concerned about picking both incumbent wingers if there is a risk they could be underdone.    

Daley must also make a decision on the Origin future of Manly forward Jake Trbojevic, who led the Blues to victory in last year's series but only played 85 minutes across the three games.

Trbojevic played 72 minutes at prop in last Sunday's loss to the Sharks, which was his first appearance since suffering a head knock in the opening exchanges of the Round 7 match against St George Illawarra.

He will revert to lock for Saturday's trip to North Queensland, whose coach Todd Payten has made a major change after last weekend's 30-30 draw with Penrith by axing halfback Jake Clifford and moving teen star Jaxon Purdue to five-eighth.

Papua New Guinea centre Zac Laybutt returns from an ACL injury that prematurely ended his season, enabling Payten to shift Purdue to partner co-captain Tom Dearden in the halves.

In other major team news, the Rabbitohs welcome back Alex Johnston from a hamstring injury for Sunday night's match against Wests Tigers as he continues his pursuit of the premiership tryscoring record.

Broncos five-eighth Ezra Mam will make his first NRL appearance of the season following the injury to five-eighth Ben Hunt in last weekend's loss to Souths.

Mam served a nine-match suspension for an off-field incident and returned last weekend in the Queensland Cup.

Warriors co-captain James Fisher-Harris and Dally M Medallist Roger Tuivasa-Sheck are in line to return from injury in a double boost for Saturday's clash against the Dolphins at Suncorp Stadium.

Fisher-Harris has been sidelined since being forced off the field with a pectoral strain in the opening minutes of the Round 6 match against Melbourne, while Tuivasa-Sheck hasn’t played since picking up a hamstring injury in Round 3.