Jason Ryles insists Mitch Moses will be fit for the second State of Origin match despite missing Parramatta's last NRL match before NSW team selection.
Scratched from Origin I the day before kick-off, five-eighth Moses has resumed running on return from his minor hamstring injury.
But his omission from Monday's NRL clash against Canterbury robbed Moses of his last chance to reaffirm his credentials before Origin II on June 17.
Eels coach Ryles said "it wasn't worth" risking captain and star player Moses for round 14, but that he was tracking well in his recovery ahead of Origin II.
"All you need to know is, if he gets selected, he'll be right to play," said Ryles.
"They just build up their speeds of running and their volumes and he's in the middle of that at the moment.
"He's looking pretty good right at the minute. Provided he has no incidents in that, he'll be fine."
Canberra five-eighth Ethan Strange had a superb Origin debut in Moses' absence as NSW clinched a 22-20 win in the series opener late last month.
But Blues coach Laurie Daley previously indicated there would be room for Moses in his 20-man squad for game two pending his fitness.
Moses has won his last four Origin matches, including playing halfback in the gripping game-three decider that sealed the Blues' last series win in 2024.
Moses' hamstring issue marked his second mid-Origin camp injury in as many years, but Ryles said he hoped the playmaker would be picked.
"Very comfortable with him playing Origin, he deserves it. I think every time he goes and plays, he does really well, NSW does well," Ryles said.
"It's part of having good players at your footy club, if they're playing Origin, then you're a better chance of winning each weekend."
Ryles would not be drawn to comment on whether Moses would be comfortable returning from injury via NSW's bench to accommodate wunderkind Strange.
Moses has never started from the bench in his first-grade career and would be no guarantee to take the field if selected there as back-up playmaker.
"Ask Loz, he's the Origin coach and he's doing a good job," Ryles said.
In Moses, the Blues have a stronger second kicking option to complement Cleary, with Canberra's Strange considered a run-first five-eighth.
Moses and incumbent halfback Nathan Cleary have partnered each other just once at Origin level, in last year's game-one victory.
Uncapped Dolphins playmaker Isaiya Katoa looms as the likeliest replacement option if Daley opts against selecting Moses.
The coach had considered naming Katoa in his game-one squad but a head knock thwarted the 22-year-old's hopes of a call-up.
The Blues will select their team following Monday's King's Birthday clash between the Bulldogs and Eels.
The team enters camp on NSW's Central Coast on Tuesday afternoon before flying to Melbourne later in the week.
