Wayne Bennett has baulked at the prospect of Darius Boyd being thrust into this year's State of Origin series, saying the recovering fullback's best football is at least another month away.
Boyd is back in the Maroons mix ahead of the May 27 Origin opener after being cleared by Brisbane to launch his comeback from a pre-season Achilles injury in Friday night's NRL clash with Penrith.
Queensland coach Mal Meninga this week claimed he would back Boyd to play Origin I in Sydney even if he had played one NRL game upon his return.
But Broncos coach Bennett said only time would tell whether Boyd was up to the task.
"Let's just wait and see. Everyone will be a bit wiser after he plays tomorrow night," he said.
"He'll do his job tomorrow night but we won't see the best of him for another month or so."
Reminded of Meninga's backing of Boyd, Bennett said: "Mal might have said that but if he (Boyd) is not playing well tomorrow night and in the next week or two, then his form is obviously not good going into it."
Meninga is expected to name his Maroons squad for Origin I on May 19.
After undergoing surgery on his ruptured Achilles, Boyd was told his recovery would take five to seven months.
But Bennett got a feeling a month ago that Boyd's NRL return would be sooner rather than later.
"I think we always felt he would be on schedule," Bennett said.
"A month ago he started running with the team and did some ball work, there wasn't an issue."
"He's had no hiccups in his rehab, it has all gone perfectly.
"He's a very diligent person, a very committed guy so he has made it work."
The 27-year-old will replace Jordan Kahu at fullback against the Panthers at Suncorp Stadium after training strongly for the third time this week.
Boyd will run out for Brisbane almost seven years after he played his last game in a Broncos jersey.
Boyd left Brisbane to link with Bennett at the Dragons (2009-11) and again at Newcastle (2012-14) before following the master coach back to Brisbane on a lucrative deal ahead of the 2015 season.
During his time away from the Broncos he played 17 Tests for Australia, 20 Origins for Queensland and won a Clive Churchill Medal as man of the match for the Dragons when they won the 2010 NRL premiership.
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