The Warriors are primed to rise up the ladder in the second half of the season with as many as seven stars returning for their Round 14 clash with the Cowboys.
They started to get momentum with wins over Penrith and Dolphins before their bye last round and are set to welcome back an armada of key players for their trip to North Queensland.
Front-rower Addin Fonua-Blake will be back after he was dumped for disciplinary reasons while Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad (illness), Rocco Berry (hand), Tohu Harris (wrist), Wayde Egan (head knock), Shaun Johnson (pectoral) and Kurt Capewell (calf) will bring a wealth of experience into the team after recent layoffs.
Cowboys coach Todd Payten will be sweating out Wednesday night’s Origin opener with the highest club representation of six – Valentine Holmes, Tom Dearden, Reuben Cotter, Jeremiah Nanai, Reece Robson and Murray Taulagi.
Second-rower Heilum Luki is likely to be out after he was sin-binned for a dangerous throw in Sunday’s win over the Roosters.
Teams with multiple players in Origin will be permitted to select extended squads this week.
Canterbury will be without Josh Addo-Carr for at least two months after scans on his hamstring injury confirmed significant damage.
