Cooper Cronk

Gillmeister says Warriors backrower Jacob Lillyman - not Manly playmaker Daly Cherry-Evans - is likely to come into the interchange if bench utility Michael Morgan is promoted to start in place of injured halfback Cronk on Wednesday night in Sydney.

"But I would be very surprised if he (Cronk) didn't play," Gillmeister said on Sunday.

In a sign Gillmeister's bench call is on the money, Cherry-Evans did not feature in Sunday's training session after being sent back to NRL club Manly.

Thurston said Cronk, who rolled his ankle at training on Friday, had earned the right to be given until the last minute to prove his fitness.

Queensland doctor Matt Hislop said precautionary scans on Cronk's injury were encouraging and it was hoped aggressive treatment would ensure the half-back was ready to play New South Wales.

While Cronk holds the undisputed mantle for calmness under pressure Reynolds' game has developed to the point that it not only delivered the Rabbitohs the 2014 Telstra Premiership but has him widely regarded as the owner of the best kicking game in the NRL.

It's a kicking game that will be put under more pressure than Reynolds has ever previously experienced next Wednesday night at ANZ Stadium as he and five-eighth James Maloney look to counter the stranglehold Cronk and Johnathan Thurston have had over Origin for the past five years.