Forgotten NSW hooker Peter Wallace refuses to give up hope of a dream return to State of Origin despite injury robbing him of a fairytale comeback this year.
Two months after he was set to end an eight-year absence from the interstate arena, Wallace will make his return from a groin injury in Saturday's NRL clash with Gold Coast.
The veteran rake trained strongly alongside skipper Matt Moylan (hamstring) on Tuesday, while Bryce Cartwright also took to the field for the first time since hurting his knee in round 11.
Asked how long it took for him to put behind the initial disappointment of missing Origin, Wallace said: "I don't know. I don't think I'll ever get over it.
"After the first Origin, I moved on and it was about the time I got back training too. That helped."
Wallace had been hopeful of overcoming his groin issue when he joined the opening day of Blues camp in Sydney for Origin I, but was shattered to be ruled out.
Titans rake Nathan Peats was rushed into camp and played all three games.
"Obviously I hadn't had a scan at that time so I didn't really know what was wrong. I was pretty sore," Wallace said.
"There was a little bit of hope there, thinking it could just be something that settled down pretty quick. But it wasn't the case, it was a pretty big tear. It was very disappointing."
Still, his stunning rise into calculations means he refuses to believe his Origin career - his last game was in 2009 - is over.
"There's always hope. I haven't given up hope," he said.
Wallace's return, together with Moylan's shift into the halves and rookie Dylan Edwards' call-up at fullback, means this will be an untested spine for the Panthers.
Wallace said he was looking forward to seeing what they can achieve.
"It came about when I got injured in that Newcastle game. Moyza jumped to halves and I think he's been going really great ever since then," he said.
"Him and (halfback Nathan Cleary) have been working well together and I'm excited to come back in and work with those two."
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