Wests Tigers Head Coach Michael Maguire says he's confident captain Moses Mbye would be right for State of Origin selection if named in the Queensland team for Game One.
Mbye was a late withdrawal from his side's Round 11 defeat to the South Sydney Rabbitohs on Saturday night after picking up a minor groin strain at the team's final training session on Friday.
With speculation building that the Wests Tigers fullback was set to be named on the bench by Coach Kevin Walters for his Origin debut in Game One, Maguire said he had no doubts the 25-year-old would be right to play, if selected.
"He [Mbye] just has a slight strain to his groin," he told reporters post-match.
"It's only a subtle one.
"If we were playing in four or five days he might have been okay but with the 24-hour turnaround from when he did it to play in this game, he just wasn't ready.
"He'll definitely be ready [for Origin] — without a doubt."
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If named for Game One, Mbye would have less than 48 hours to back up from the game for his side's Round 13 clash against the Canberra Raiders at Bankwest Stadium. However, Maguire said the potential selection had far more positive outcomes for the team than negative as a result of the experience gained.
"I always push my players to play Origin," he enthused. "It's a great opportunity for a player to step in to a higher arena and they always come back a better player.
"To be able to play at that level, they come back a different player because of the level that you need to lift to during Origin so it'd be great if Moses got in there.
"Moses has been doing some good things out the back there for us," he added.
"I think a lot of people don't quite understand the fullback position and the importance as a defender. They do such a job to corral and tell players where to go and Moses has a great ability to do that, and I think his attack over the last few weeks has also started to rise."
Teams for Game One of the State of Origin series will be named over the next day ahead of the series opener at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday, June 5.
