Tom Opacic has vowed to be honest with Parramatta officials and only play in Sunday's NRL grand final against Penrith if fully fit as he fights to overcome a hamstring injury.
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Opacic trained away from Parramatta's squad at Monday open practice session, put through several running drills under the close watch of Eels staff.
He has not played since limping from the field against Canberra in week two of the finals, and opted not to risk the injury against North Queensland last week.
"I pulled up alright," Opacic told AAP after Monday's run.
"It's just going day by day now and ticking boxes really.
"I felt like I was pretty close (to playing the Cowboys) but it was probably just too much of a high risk to take the field.
"I just thought, there's more risk in playing and hurting myself and missing this game (the grand final) and letting the team down."
But the 28-year-old is no certainty to take to the field this week.
A Parramatta fan since his early schoolboy days growing up in Brisbane, Opacic still recalls the heartache of the 2009 grand final and his earlier love of halfback Tim Smith.
If he plays, Sunday will mark his last game for the club with a deal already in place to move to Hull KR in the English Super League for next season.
But in reality, he is not sure if his NRL career is already over.
"It's in the hands of the medical staff but if I'm not 100 per cent ready to go, I'm not going to jeopardise the team for my own benefit," he said.
"If I go out there and go down in the first 10 minutes, the boys are down a player for 70 minutes. That's not fair on anyone.
"The boys have worked too hard for this.
"But in saying that, (playing in a grand final) is an absolute dream come true and I don't want to miss it for anything."
Opacic will be named by the Eels on Tuesday, but if he doesn't recover in time then Bailey Simonsson will likely take his spot in the backline.
Penrith have their own injury concerns, with big days ahead for winger Taylan May (hamstring) and bench forward Spencer Leniu.
The Panthers want to make a call on May as early as Wednesday, while they will also await clearance from their own doctor and an independent specialist following Leniu's head knock last week.
Australian Associated Press
