Sharks back-rower Wade Graham remains hopeful good friend and Blues teammate Boyd Cordner will be fit to lead NSW for the State of Origin decider on July 12.
Cordner picked up a calf injury in the dying stages of the 18-16 defeat at ANZ Stadium in Game Two that ruled him out of the Roosters' Round 16 win over the Storm and is set to keep him sidelined for this weekend's clash against Graham's Sharks.
The state of NSW will be praying their fearless leader recovers in time for the Suncorp Stadium decider, and if Cordner's history is anything to go by there's every chance he'll fight through the pain to take his place in the Blues' pack.
The 25-year-old suffered a serious ankle injury in Round 22 of the 2013 season but made a miraculous recovery just in time for the grand final, which the Roosters won, and it's that toughness that has Graham confident his skipper will be good to go come July 12.
The pair caught up for dinner on Tuesday night, and while Cordner didn't give much away Graham backed his brother in blue to be there for the biggest game of the year.
"I caught up with him and he's going okay, he's working hard [to be fit]," Graham told media on Wednesday afternoon.
"He's hard to get a read on, Boydy – he's not a really emotional guy – but he seems confident. He gets his confidence because he knows how hard he works to get things right. I'm like everyone else; we all have our fingers crossed that the calf comes good and he's available for Origin III.
"One thing about Boydy is he'll work his hardest to make sure he's the best possible chance of playing. He's not going to be playing on the weekend but knowing him, if he's got half a leg, he'll play [in Game Three]. He's the ultimate professional when it comes to that.
"We've seen his track record in the past when he came back from that syndesmosis early and played in the [2013] grand final. He's got a track record of overcoming injuries so he'll be working hard on that and we all have our fingers crossed – the playing group and I'm sure everyone in NSW."
This article first appeared on NRL.com
