Parramatta Eels centre Krisnan Inu will be given until the last possible moment to prove his fitness ahead of today's NRL finals clash with St George Illawarra.
The New Zealand international limped out of last Friday's 37-0 defeat to the Dragons with a hamstring strain and Eels coach Daniel Anderson
said Inu was receiving around-the-clock treatment to give him the best chance of playing at Kogarah.
"He is not without a hope [of playing]. I can't say he is in and I can't say he is out because I feared the worst after last week's game but he has a chance," said Anderson.
Despite last Friday's setback, which was the Eels' first defeat in eight games, Anderson said his players could not wait to try to make amends against the minor premiers.
"We are excited," Anderson said. "Everybody is trying to make themselves available, as Krisnan is showing. I am excited, I have no issues about playing a game in the first week of the finals."
Parramatta were a shadow of the side that won their last seven games against a rampant Dragons outfit but Anderson insisted his players would not repeat that performance.
"We were turned over by some pretty good plays against us but we didn't complete enough sets. We didn't challenge the opposition much so we need to make it harder for them to score against us," he said.
"We haven't spoken about losing being a blessing and I can't isolate anything that we got wrong.
"For seven weeks, we got a large proportion of our things right, but we lost, you deal with it, [today] is a new game."
The Eels will also be boosted by the return of Nathan Hindmarsh, who missed last week's defeat because of a toe injury, and Anderson said the contribution the former test and NSW second rower makes to the side is huge.
"He just brings a commitment to the jersey and his team-mates. Obviously he has some fantastic stats behind him but it is also the intangibles that he brings to the team," Anderson said.
"He is a very inspirational player and his performances drive other players. Having Hindy and Eric Grothe back is a big boost for us."
- AAP
