Queensland Rugby League boss Rohan Sawyer says the Maroons have the depth to cope with the new NRL concussion protocols ahead of this year's State of Origin series.
Sawyer made it clear he supported the NRL's stance, and that player safety and wellbeing remains paramount.
The new 11-day mandatory stand-down ruling means a player concussed on a Saturday or Sunday in an NRL game before the Origin teams are announced would miss out.
This year all Origin games will be played on a Wednesday night and the Maroons will have 10-day camps.
Sawyer said the introduction of the Dolphins to the NRL, and their early success, had provided Queensland coach Billy Slater with an "extra pathway".
"There is a vast number of Queenslanders inside that Dolphins squad, so the more Queensland teams can be doing well gives Billy a greater choice come May when we start to look at Origin squads," he said.
"It is great to see so many Queensland clubs going well when you think 10 years ago we were so reliant on the Broncos being strong because that is where most of the Maroons came from.
"There is always someone who steps up into a Queensland jersey ready to go."
The new concussion protocols are sure to have an impact on Origin, but Sawyer said the Maroons could cope.
"We rely on players coming back from the NRL into Maroons camp and sometimes it is not until 6pm on the Sunday night that we know who is coming in on the Monday," he said.
"They could have an ACL tear. Now, with concussion and the 11-days (stand-down) that may cause an issue if a player had a concussion on Saturday or Sunday.
'It is going to require the depth of our squad and Billy is probably going to have to have a wider net around who we can look at over that weekend in case we do have some concussions.
"The reality is that we have less players to pick from that are Queensland-eligible than NSW but ... we will be fine from a depth perspective."
The Maroons last year made the best of their player pool, with Origin debutants Pat Carrigan, Jeremiah Nanai, Tom Dearden, Tom Gilbert, Selwyn Cobbo and Murray Taulagi all playing a role in their series win.
The Dolphins already have Maroons Brenko Lee, Gilbert and fullback Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow making their case for selection, with the early form of Broncos fullback Reece Walsh also a boost.
There is concern at QRL headquarters over the wellbeing of Newcastle skipper and Maroons star Kalyn Ponga after another worrying concussion.
"He has been phenomenal in a Maroons jersey and we'd always love to see him in (one) ... but he probably needs to spend a bit of time understanding his body and getting that right," Sawyer said.
