Blues officials on Tuesday night told Matt Burton he can remain in Dubbo, leaving Crichton in their 19-man squad and backing him to play at Suncorp Stadium.
The decision to not fly Burton north is a serious leap of faith from the Blues, given he would have become 18th man if Campbell Graham had to replace Crichton.
One of the Blues' most dynamic players, Crichton was spotted limping from training on Monday with a heavily iced leg following a collision.
NSW will check Crichton's injury again on Wednesday, but AAP understands the centre's leg improved from Tuesday morning to afternoon after a light run.
His fitness came after powerhouse prop Payne Haas was also cleared to play on Tuesday morning, leaving a blissful Laurie Daley "good as gold" on his return to Blues coach.
In the 48 hours since arriving in Brisbane ahead of Wednesday's series opener in Brisbane, Daley has been handed a fair reminder of the soap opera of Origin.
The returning NSW coach has smiled through a double dose of injury dramas, a spying scandal and a newspaper headline labelling one of his men a "grub".
All part of Origin, the former Blues great turned coach reckons ahead of his first game in charge since 2017.
"Good as gold," he said on Tuesday, borrowing a line from his opponents as he spoke in the shadows of Milton's XXXX Brewery at Suncorp Stadium on Tuesday.
"My mind's clear.
"I can't complain about anything that's happened this week.
"That's part of Origin, you've just got to roll with the punches and not be put off at all.
"There's always a challenge around Origin time, it doesn't take away our focus."
Daley had said on Tuesday morning he would give Crichton every chance to play, with the Canterbury star a threat on NSW's right edge.
Crichton had on Tuesday ran out on to Suncorp Stadium relatively freely for training, but Daley said he would not complete the captain's run.
That was behind closed doors, a stipulation reinforced by a surprise request over the Suncorp Stadium speakers for all unnecessary workers to vacate the stadium.
It came after NSW's policy of closed-door training sessions didn't stop footage leaking of Crichton limping off Monday's closed session at Ballymore.
Unimpressed by the breach of protocol, Daley admitted there could be a further tightening of access as a result.
"When it's a private session (you're) always disappointed when stuff like that gets leaked," he said.
"That'll all be part of the (game one) review when we go through what we could do better.
"We might stop people coming to training; we don't want to, but that might be part of what we need to do.
"You expect if you invite people in you know the rules."
Daley, back in charge for his first series since his 15-game stint between 2013-17, also laughed off a back-page headline labelling Blues firebrand Spencer Leniu a "grub".
"Grub's a heavy word ... he's a good person," Daley said.
"He'll be OK. He's got a plan, everyone's got his back and I don't think the crowd's going to jump in and do anything."
Michael Maguire led the side to a rare series-deciding win in Brisbane last year before taking over at the Broncos.
Captain Isaah Yeo said Daley, whose sole series win as coach came in 2014, had slotted in well.
"He's just been outstanding for the group," the Penrith lock said of Daley, who played 23 times for the Blues.
"Very passionate for the jersey, a NSW great with that aura about him already, but you can see how much it means to him and it's resonated."
9°C