St George Illawarra centre Matt Cooper will learn today if he has been handed an early shot at resurrecting his representative career in next month's NRL All Stars game.
A regular member of the NSW State of Origin team since debuting in 2004, Cooper was overlooked for last year's series as Blues selectors opted for fresh blood in their failed bid to end Queensland's recent dominance.
He also literally limped into the Dragons finals campaign last year after struggling with a heel injury in the final weeks.
Full coverage of the Dragons But with a fresh start in 2010, Cooper's cause has been helped by a public push from NRL All Stars and St George Illawarra coach Wayne Bennett.
The All Stars team - to play an indigenous dream team which features Dragons five-eighth Jamie Soward - is selected by an online fan vote which closed at midnight last night.
Only one player from each NRL club can be selected for the All Stars team, meaning the biggest rival to Cooper's selection is his team-mate Ben Creagh.
While Cooper is a warm favourite to secure a position - largely because of Bennett's indication that he wanted the 30-year-old as a key weapon in shutting down Indigenous All Stars centre Greg Inglis - there was just a handful of votes separating him and Creagh at the weekend.
Bennett, NRL All Stars playmaker Benji Marshall and NRL chief executive David Gallop will be in Sydney for the team announcement today.
Marshall, Kiwi Adam Blair and Australian captain and vice-captain Darren Lockyer and Cameron Smith are the only automatic selections for the All Stars team because of their international standing.
The inaugural game - to be played at the Gold Coast's Skilled Park on February 13 - will feature seven-man interchanges.
Test representative Brett Morris was ruled out of the game because of injury.
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