Melbourne Storm v Brisbane Broncos
The banged-up Broncos head into the AFL heartland with a number of concerns over the makeup of their side ahead of Friday night's game against the Storm.
The Storm are at full-strength ahead of their bid for a second successive grand final appearance, while their northern rivals have a number of stars on ice in the lead-up to the contest.
Corey Oates' sickening concussion last week has the star winger in doubt with fellow winger Jordan Kahu saying coach Wayne Bennett had a "tough situation" ahead of him.
"He seemed alright after the game and I am sure he will do everything this week to get up for the game," he said.
"Any other part of the body you can try and push but it’s pretty serious (head knocks) - you don’t want to be stuffing around with those kind of things."
Oates isn't the only Bronco needing to pass concussion protocol later in the week with veteran Sam Thaiday and prop Jai Arrow both suffering head knocks last week.
Both are expected to be fit, however, along with skipper Darius Boyd who looks set to have overcome a hamstring injury. Boyd's return will send young gun Kodi Nikorima back into the halves alongside Anthony Milford with veteran Benji Marshall moving back to the bench, a role which Marshall was more than happy to fill.
"I’ve been a little bit inconsistent over the last few weeks which is probably off the back of playing two 80 minute games in the last two months. It’s been testing but I’ve really enjoyed it," Marshall said on Monday.
"… If Darius is fit, Kodi deserves his opportunity at half.
"I've been playing that role on the bench for most of the season."
Young forward Tevita Pangai Jnr is also expected to be fit after overcoming a hamstring injury of his own, giving Bennett plenty to think about ahead of Friday night's clash against his old protégé.
Sydney Roosters v North Queensland Cowboys
The well-rested Roosters are set to enter this weekend's preliminary final nearing full fitness despite a number of players having question marks over their head.
Luke Keary sent a scare through the Roosters camp on Monday after leaving training early but the club has said it was simply just a bad bout of food poisoning, with the playmaker a certain starter come Saturday night.
Winger Daniel Tupou has also been declared fit to play after overcoming a groin injury that has bothered him over the last four-six weeks while Zane Tetevano also returns from suspension giving the Roosters a strong squad to select from in their grand final qualifier.
The Cowboys will head into enemy territory with just the one injury concern as big man Coen Hess awaits the results of scans on his knee.
Hess admitted to Fox Sports that he was suffering some pain after copping a bump to it last week but remained positive about his chances this week.
"There was a bit of pain there,” Hess told foxsports.com.au. "“There can be some pretty severe injuries with knees but I think I was more scared than anything.
"It got a bit of a bump to it … the physio ran out and told me I was ‘all good’ and that gave me a lot of confidence. Because it was so close to the second half, I came into the sheds and got my mind off it.
"In the second half, I just re-aggravated it so I had a check-up done to it and it’s only really minor."
Justin O'Neill successfully return from his elbow injury in last weeks win, while John Asiata's admission of playing with a broken hand won't keep him out of the side this weekend.
