Mitch Moses looks set to miss the remainder of the State of Origin series after scans confirmed a moderate calf strain for the NSW five-eighth.
Moses' NRL club Parramatta confirmed the playmaker would miss between four and six weeks with the injury he suffered at training in NSW's Blue Mountains camp on Thursday.
It means Moses' 11th-hour replacement for Origin II, Jarome Luai, is in pole position to retain the five-eighth spot for the third game of the series on July 9.
Even if Moses was to recover quicker than anticipated, it appears unlikely coach Laurie Daley would risk bringing the 30-year-old into camp without any NRL gametime under his belt.
After Moses went down, Daley chose to summon Luai into camp from outside his 20-player squad, rather than promote Matt Burton from 18th man to five-eighth for Origin II next Wednesday.
Daley cited Luai's chemistry with halfback Nathan Cleary, his extensive Origin experience and Burton's ability to bring versatility to the 18th man role.
Canterbury five-eighth Burton has never made it onto the field when filling the 18th man role for NSW in four of the past seven Origin games.
Even though his five-eighth has been left without reward for his patience, Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo could not begrudge the Blues.
"Coaches make decisions in the best interest of the team," Ciraldo said.
"NSW would be doing that, that's what we're doing here. That's up to their coaches."
Ciraldo expected Burton to have taken the setback in his stride ahead of the match in Perth on Wednesday.
"He would love to be playing in that arena but 'Burto' is a team-first person," he said.
"He always puts the team first wherever he goes so I'm sure he would have done that."
Ciraldo has previously been happy to see Burton picked as 18th man but has also admitted to frustrations having lost the important five-eighth for NRL games.
Unlike other members of Origin extended squads, the 18th player is not released back to their club to play NRL fixtures on the weekend before Origin.
The disparity will be laid bare this weekend as NSW's 19th man Keaon Koloamatangi returns for South Sydney to face a Canterbury side forced to do without Burton.
Sunday's NRL game will be the third Burton misses on 18th man duties, with the Bulldogs losing one of two in his absence so far.
They also suffered a big defeat to the Dolphins last month when elder statesman Kurt Mann was away on 18th man duties for Queensland.
There is concern that if the 18th man were permitted to play at NRL level the weekend before an Origin game, they could be forced to line up again only days later if activated mid-game.
But players routinely back up from Origin to play NRL only days later.
Outside back Val Holmes notably played 80 minutes for St George Illawarra only two days after featuring for Queensland in the Origin I loss.
Ciraldo wanted the 18th player rule to be reviewed for next Origin series.
"It'd be great for the system to be looked at in the future where hopefully the 18th man could play (at club level) and then go and do that job and take on that responsibility," Ciraldo said.
"But right now, it is what it is.
"I'd just challenge 'Burto' to go in there and become a better footballer and bring it back to the Bulldogs."
