NSW selectors face a dilemma if Kurt Gidley is fit for Origin II after his replacement, Peter Wallace, starred in last night's series-opening win at ANZ Stadium.

But despite their 18-10 defeat, Maroons coach Mal Meninga indicated Scott Prince was unlikely to be recalled and said he was hopeful injured captain Darren Lockyer would be back at five-eighth, possibly with veteran prop Steve Price.

With Wallace rated the Blues' second-choice halfback, at best, coach Craig Bellamy confirmed alterations had to be made to the way the NSW team played last night. But after getting his chance when Gidley suffered a fractured cheekbone on the eve of the team's selection, the Brisbane playmaker turned in a top-shelf performance on debut.

Gidley, who underwent surgery last Friday, is expected to have recovered in time for the next match in Brisbane on June 11, but may have to settle for a bench spot after Bellamy admitted it would be hard to drop any of the players involved in last night's four-tries-to-two win.

"Obviously, these guys earned a lot of ticks tonight," he said. "I was really happy with the way we handled things. We got off to a good start and we kept going from there.

"I thought we defended really well so I couldn't be happier with our performance and I couldn't be prouder of them, either. You never have your plans go 100 per cent right but we were pretty close. I couldn't have asked for more than that. But we'll just see who is fit to play, and we'll obviously pick the team that we think can do the job best for us up at Suncorp."

While the Blues executed Bellamy's game plan to near perfection, the coach had to make significant changes after Gidley was ruled out.

"There were a few things we had to change," he said. "We didn't change it completely but we had to make some subtle changes, I suppose. The longer the week went, the better we got at those changes - and that's a real credit to Danny Buderus and our halves.

"Peter was great, he got off to a really good start. He was strong and he had a really good start in Origin. I think having 'Joey' [Andrew Johns] was important for him. Again, it was just some little things that obviously Joey knows about because of the player he was, but also there was a little bit of Origin experience in there as well. So it wasn't all tactics and technique, there was some mentality in there as well.

"Joey was great for everyone in camp but certainly he was a little bit more focused on Peter, in particular, and imparting that sort of knowledge was great for Peter out there tonight."

While Gidley won't get a club game under his belt before the next NSW side is chosen, the Newcastle utility was a focal point of Bellamy's original plans and is expected to be picked somewhere in the next squad. But Wallace, the ninth Queensland-based player to represent NSW, is almost certain to retain the No.7 jersey.

"I'd never met him before but the thing I liked about him from the start was watching him play. He's quite a cool customer," Bellamy said. "That was one of the considerations in picking him. We had to go with a young halfback, so a guy who doesn't get flustered too easily was always going to be a bonus for us and he was that sort of guy."

In contrast, the Maroons sorely missed the direction of Lockyer and Meninga revealed the Test and Queensland captain was due to start running before the end of next week after undergoing surgery on the back of his kneecap 11 days ago.

He also nominated Price, the Warriors captain, as a possible selection for Origin II if he makes a successful return from the hamstring injury that has sidelined him since the opening premiership round.

However, Meninga left little doubt that Prince would again be overlooked. Asked if he expected Prince's name to again feature prominently in debate about the team, Meninga said: "Only if you keep bringing it up."

When it was suggested that Prince would have to figure in discussions among the Maroons selectors, he said: "Why?"

Targeted by Sam Thaiday and Greg Inglis in defence, Wallace was forced to make 29 tackles but it hardly seemed to affect the 22-year-old Penrith product, whose kicking game was so important. The Broncos halfback was involved in the opening two tries, both scored by Melbourne winger Anthony Quinn, and repeatedly isolated Queensland fullback Billy Slater with long kicks at the end of sets or forced an in-goal restart.

Wallace was ably assisted by five-eighth Greg Bird, a controversial selection ahead of Braith Anasta.