Brisbane's front-row stocks are looking a little shaky for their NRL season-opening blockbuster against the Cowboys, with Sam Thaiday battling a groin injury and Mitchell Dodds nursing a broken hand.

Dodds is a contender to be the bench back-up for props Ben Hannant and Thaiday for the March 11 showdown, which may attract a 50,000-strong Suncorp Stadium crowd given record ticket sales earlier this week.

But Dodds and Thaiday, who's been receiving treatment for the painful groin condition osteitis pubis, are under injury clouds.

"I haven't spoken to the specialist but Mitchell might still be right for game one," said coach Ivan Henjak, who'll take 19 players to Alice Springs on Thursday for a pre-season trial against the Cowboys this Saturday.

Henjak added that Thaiday, who has been on a special training program for almost a month, could get some match time in Brisbane's final pre-season trial on Saturday week against Melbourne at Redcliffe or go straight into the Cowboys' clash without a warm-up game.

After backing a winner last season with NRL rookie of the year, Matt Gillett, Henjak may roll the dice on another Brisbane Norths' Queensland Cup player, Jack Reed.

Henjak has to find left centre and wing replacements following the departures of representative star Israel Folau (AFL) and Antonio Winterstein (Cowboys), with young Reed locked in a three-way battle with Gerard Beale and Denan Kemp.

"Jack is definitely in the frame," said Henjak of the flame-haired outside back.

"He's worked really hard at training and had a good attitude around the place.

"He did quite well in the trial the other night. He scored a good try just by chasing hard and showed a bit of skill to get the ball down and he defended well.

"He certainly didn't do himself any harm.

"There's a few vying for those spots, Bealey has had a great pre-season but so has Denan, he's done everything right but he's got a groin issue at the moment."

AAP

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