It is understood Dragons officials advised the NSW camp of their concerns on Sunday, but Daley opted to choose Dugan after a phone discussion with the St George Illawarra fullback. ''They have said that he has been carrying an injury and obviously that needs to be monitored but after speaking to Josh myself he seems as if he is very confident there will be no issue,'' Daley said. However, NSW officials confirmed Dugan would undergo a scan on Monday to confirm he was fit to play his first Origin match since he debuted for the Blues in the opening game of the 2011 series. Fairfax Media understands Dugan sat out of training with the Dragons early in the week before the club's past two games against Newcastle and the Cowboys and Gray said he wanted him to have his ankle scanned. ''Josh was limited in how much he could do for us this week,'' Gray said. ''He picked up an ankle injury last weekend [against the Knights] and he has aggravated that tonight. He was in a boot after the Newcastle game and he will be again over the weekend and the plan then would be for him to have scans on Monday.''

Dugan also faces an anxious wait over a high tackle on North Queensland and Maroons playmaker Johnathan Thurston but is expected to escape suspension. He expressed his sympathy for Hayne but said he was ''thankful'' for the chance to play for the Blues. ''I have been concentrating on playing for the Dragons since joining the club over a month ago so to be named for the Blues has been a great bonus,'' Dugan said in a statement on the Dragons website. ''It's unfortunate for Jarryd Hayne that his hamstring hasn't recovered enough in time for him to be selected as he was very competitive in game one. I'll focus now on the next 10 days ahead and will do whatever the coaching staff requires of me.'' Daley, who has previously coached Dugan in the 2010 and 2011 Country teams, phoned him on Sunday to advise he would wear the No. 1 jersey if fit.