Reigning Wally Lewis medallist Tom Dearden is tracking to be available for the third State of Origin match as North Queensland eye his return after their round-15 bye.
Saturday's clash with the Dolphins is set to be the last Cowboys game Queensland star Dearden misses following last month's ankle surgery.
Dearden had initially expected to spend up to eight weeks on the sidelines, which would have meant not playing again before teams were picked for Origin III.
