Nathan Cleary makes a worrying confession as he gets ready for Origin game three
The Penrith halfback handed over kicking duties for the match to Zac Lomax, who struggled off the tee, booting two of his five attempts at goal. Laurie Daly's side would ultimately succumb to a 26-24 defeat by Queensland.
Cleary, meanwhile, raised alarm bells as he ran out to play with a support grip on his right thigh during the match.
While he missed the Panther's Round 16 clash against the Warriors, Cleary returned to run the show against his side's 8-6 win against Canterbury, but was still seen wearing the support grip.
When asked whether he would return to kick for the Blues next week in Sydney, Cleary admitted he was weary of aggravating the injury again, but did also leave the door open for a potential return.
'It's a call we are probably going to make pretty early in the week,' Cleary said on Tuesday.
'Since it happened I haven't had a goal kick yet.
'You don't want to try it and then get another setback.
'We will see.'
Cleary was instrumental in Penrith's victory against Canterbury last Thursday, scoring the Panthers' only try of the match.
However, he had handed over kicking duties to fullback Dylan Edwards for the game, who slotted the conversion off the back of Cleary's try and a penalty too.
Lomax, meanwhile, returned to feature in both of the Eels Round 16 and 17 matches against the Titans and the Dragons.
The centre, 25, was gutted after State of Origin II and refused to speak to the media after missing three shots at goal.
But the Parramatta star is looking to turn things around for State of Origin III, with Lomax booting eight goals across his last two NRL appearances.
'I pride myself on being the best kicker I can be,' he told 9News.
'Sometimes you live or die by the sword when you goal kick, and you wear that heavy.
'I was disappointed. I'm a goal kicker and I love goal kicking, so nothing will change.'
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I don't know how compelling medical evidence gets you from five weeks down to four, and if we're talking about mental health, by what metric, measurement scale are we saying that equates to one week. 'I don't understand, I'm confused. Can someone explain it to me?' Dan Houston then clarified that the Crows needed to respect medical confidentiality around the matter, but added: 'Adelaide would say is that there were certain triggers in regards to this, that he was triggered because being knocked out by Dan Houston last winter last year, that was one of the factors.' Houston knocked Rankine out with a bump last year, and it is believed that the pair had a war of words on the pitch on Saturday, which Adelaide included in their submissions that triggered Rankine. Dunstall replied: 'The problem is we don't get it properly explained to us. So there are triggers because you got knocked out last time. That's a trigger, and I'm not having a go at Izak Rankine; I'm having a go at this case and the way it's gone from five weeks to four weeks based on supposed compelling medical evidence. 'And we're hearing there are triggers that prompted a response, I just don't get it, and I can't comprehend how the fact that he got knocked out last time they played has anything to do with it. 'The issue is they're not idiots at AFL House. I've got great respect for Andrew Dillon. He's a smart man as are the other people around him, but we're not getting all the information. We're just expected to take this as blind faith and say they've made the right decision. 'We can't do that because it doesn't make sense without all the relevant facts to understand why they've decided to give a week off (the ban) to give him hope, perhaps, of playing in the Grand Final.' Lifeline 13 11 14 Beyondblue 1300 22 4636
