Broncos duo Matt Gillett and Corey Parker have been deemed fit for State of Origin III in a week and half despite being ruled out of Brisbane’s round 16 clash against Cronulla this Friday.
Gillett has escaped serious injury after leaving the field ten minutes into last weekend’s loss to the Warriors with a shoulder issue while the 32-year-old Parker is expected to recover from round 13’s fractured eye socket.
Both are in line for selection heading into the July 9 State of Origin III at Lang Park and will come in fresh off Brisbane’s round 17 bye as the Maroons look to restore some pride after relinquishing an eight-year hold on the Origin trophy.
Hooker Andrew McCullough will also be given extra time to recuperate from a knee injury, however Broncos coach Anthony Griffin denied the three were being kept out of the team to ensure their fitness for the July 14 hitout against Penrith.
“I don’t take any notice of that,” Griffin told APN as the team prepares to host the 2-11 Sharks, held pointless in the their past three outings.
“Parker and McCullough and possibly Gillo (Gillett) will be back after the bye when he have nine weeks leading into the finals.”
Griffin praised replacement Jake Granville, who will remain in the hooker role for McCullough amidst speculation he could be on the move to North Queensland.
“It was never going to be easy for Jake with Andrew being an 80-minute player for us, and such a major contributor to what we do, but I thought he did a really good job,” Griffin said.
“He played about 60 minutes and ran a lot of our attack really well.”
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