NSW coach Graham Murray has thrown his side's time-share plans out the window and vowed to give skipper Danny Buderus a more prominent role in Wednesday night's State of Origin decider in Melbourne.

In a move which could have massive implications for utility Ben Hornby's game-time off the bench, Murray said the Blues needed their captain on the park for more of the match.

Murray admitted he erred in leaving Buderus floundering on the bench in the game two loss at Suncorp Stadium with the Test hooker playing just 50 minutes as the Blues went down 30-6.

"We don't want our captain, arguably our best player, on the bench when the game's there to be won," Murray said.

"The underlying factor with Buderus is we've got to have our captain on the field for as long as we can.

"Last time we probably had him off a bit too long but it wasn't because we didn't want him on there and we have spoken about more minutes in game three."

Murray said this would probably mean less time for Hornby, who will assume the utility role off the bench occupied by dumped Sydney Roosters rake Craig Wing.

Wing played 34 minutes in the series opening win at Telstra Stadium and 42 minutes in game two, but the St George Illawarra 'Mr Fixit' could see as little as half that on Wednesday night.

"The bottom line is, we want to win the game - if it ends up being a bit unfair to some people and a bit fairer to other people, that's the way it is," Murray said.

"I look at a player like Jacob Lillyman who played for Queensland in Origin two, he played only 25 minutes. Jacob was very, very happy with that.

"Ben Hornby, I haven't sat done with him yet, but he might only get 20-25 minutes. Who knows?"

"It's a bit of a gut feeling, but at the moment I haven't set in my own mind that Ben Hornby won't play minutes."

For his part Buderus said he was looking forward to the extra involvement after being reduced to the role of frustrated onlooker as the Maroons ran away with game two to level the series.

Used to playing a full match for NRL side Newcastle, the veteran of 14 games for NSW and 23 Tests for Australia said he had struggled to come to terms with a truncated role.

"It's a pretty hard skill to play the first 25 and come back on for the last 30," Buderus said.

"It's not the best thing when you're captain and you feel what the boys are going through, you'd like to be out there helping them out.

"I'll be playing a lot more game-time which I'm looking forward to, getting into the flow of the game more."

Hornby, still in doubt for the match after injuring his groin during the side's first training session in Melbourne, said he would accept whatever role Murray gave him.

Unless there is an injury Hornby is unlikely to see much time at his preferred position of fullback or even in the halves, where he has spent the majority of the 2006 season at the injury-plagued Dragons.

Murray said he would prefer to keep new five-eighth Mark Gasnier alongside halfback Craig Gower for the majority of the match, Hornby's only opening seemingly behind Buderus.

"Obviously it's an Origin decider and Danny's one of our best players so he'd want to stay out there for as long as possible," Hornby said.

"If he needs a rest at some stage, or someone else does, then I'm there, it's the role of the utility on the bench, sometimes it's hard to find to find minutes.

"Danny will need a rest at some stage, Origin's a very fast game and he plays a very demanding position."

As for his prospects of overcoming a groin injury, Hornby remained hopeful. He has until Friday morning's training session to prove his fitness.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP