Queensland assistant Trevor Gillmeister says the Maroons are set to go with an all-forward bench in the State of Origin opener if Cooper Cronk fails to overcome his ankle injury.

Gillmeister says Warriors back-rower Jacob Lillyman - not Manly playmaker Daly Cherry-Evans - is likely to come into the interchange if bench utility Michael Morgan is promoted to start in place of injured halfback Cronk on Wednesday night in Sydney.

"But I would be very surprised if he (Cronk) didn't play," Gillmeister said on Sunday.

In a sign Gillmeister's bench call is on the money, Cherry-Evans did not feature in Sunday's training session after being sent back to NRL club Manly. A sleep-deprived Cronk is burning the midnight oil in a bid to prove his fitness.