Queensland has begun scouring its playing ranks for State of Origin answers as questions continue to be posed about the state of the Suncorp Stadium playing surface.

The Maroons - without Justin Hodges (knee) and Paul Bowman (knee) for Origin II and in danger of losing Chris Flannery (shoulder) - will need to call on all their legendary spirit to keep the Origin series alive in Sydney in two weeks time.

NSW, on the other hand, emerged relatively untouched after Wednesday night's 25-12 victory at Suncorp Stadium.

The same couldn't be said for the surface at the $280 million ground after the Hodges and Bowman injuries.

Hodges, who will have a knee reconstruction next week and miss the rest of the season, was reluctant to blame the surface and Australian Rugby League chief executive Geoff Carr claimed there was nothing wrong with the ground.

"I have to say on Wednesday morning I walked every inch of it and it was fine," Carr said.

"It's not unsafe. They weren't injured by the ground. It (injuries) happens in our game, it happens all the time."

The Maroons are considering their options to replace Bowman and Hodges.

Chairman of selectors Gene Miles confirmed the obvious names under consideration - Clinton Schifcofske, Robbie O'Davis, Johnathan Thurston, Michael Crocker, Billy Slater and Travis Norton.

Former Brisbane centre Chris Walker, recently signed by the Sydney Roosters, has also been mooted as a replacement provided he returns from a hamstring injury this weekend.

The Blues have few problems although prop Jason Ryles (shoulder) will miss St George Illawarra's match against Newcastle on Friday night.

He should be fit for Origin II.

His Dragons and NSW teammates Luke Bailey and Shaun Timmins are also in doubt for Friday but will play in the interstate rematch.

Knights and NSW hooker Danny Buderus will have x-rays on a hand injury but is expected to be fine while Ben Kennedy trained despite his well-publicised hamstring problems.

Despite taking the upper hand with victory last night, the Blues weren't counting their chickens.

"We mentioned it, not to get carried away," Blues assistant coach and selector Laurie Daley said.

"We'll take nothing for granted because we were in this situation last year and it didn't work out for us.

"We still have a lot of work to be done if we want to win the series."

Meanwhile, former international wingers Adam MacDougall and Nathan Blacklock will make their returns to the NRL on Friday night in the Knights-Dragons match at EnergyAustralia Stadium.

In other club news, Parramatta re-signed four players, including young halfback Michael Witt, for next season.

Witt, a 19-year-old product of Toowoomba in southern Queensland, signed a four-year deal which will take him through until the end of 2007.

The Eels also secured the services of former Queensland utility Daniel Wagon, winger Matt Petersen and young forward Chris Armit for a further two years.

Canberra also stitched up five-eighth Mark McLinden for a further three years.

And the NRL gave the salary cap another show of support, putting plans for a secure playing roster on hold for a further 12 months.

The NRL club bosses, taking into account the evenness of the competition, decided to give the salary cap another year to work its magic before looking at further methods of talent equalisation.

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