Out-of-favour playmaker Josh Reynolds might finally make his anticipated return to the NRL next week against the man who had lured him to the Wests Tigers.

Reynolds is likely to be recalled for next week’s grudge match against Penrith, with Benji Marshall suffering a hamstring injury in Sunday’s loss to Canterbury.

Reynolds hasn’t played NRL since busting his shoulder last July, and has been languishing for the past fortnight in reserve grade.

But the former NSW State of Origin star might be relied upon to get the Tigers back in the winner’s circle after their shock 22-8 defeat to the Bulldogs.

The Tigers have just five days to prepare for the Panthers showdown.

“It was fairly tight towards the end. I just spoke to him then and he said he’s not quite sure at the moment,” Tigers coach Michael Maguire said of Marshall’s injury.

“Being a short turnaround, we’ll have our focus around what we need to do and I’ll assess the team as we go through the week.”

Maguire said the club was fortunate to have a player of Reynolds’ calibre to call on.

“You’ve got to have some good players there waiting,” he said.

“Full credit to Josh, I know that if he gets his opportunity this week, he’ll be ready to go. He’s been performing well for reserve grade.”

And he’ll do it against a Panthers side coached by Cleary, who had signed off midway through 2017 on giving Reynolds a reported $3 million deal over four years.

Reynolds was one of the first players recruited by Cleary, however injuries limited the former Canterbury star to just five games under the former Tigers’ coach.

Cleary was controversially granted a release from his deal late last year, setting the scene for a spicy encounter on Friday night at Panthers Stadium.

Maguire denied the build-up would be a distraction for his players.

“I don’t think so – not at all,” he said.

“I think at the end of the day, we’ve sat down as a group (in the) real early days about what we want to become. So I think that’s the key of what we’re doing.”

In Sunday’s late game, South Sydney held out Gold Coast, winning 28-20 at ANZ Stadium.

In earlier results from round three, a last-gasp Corey Norman field goal gave St George Illawarra a thrilling one-point win over Brisbane to open their account.

However, there are fears skipper Gareth Widdop might have played his final NRL game after picking up another serious shoulder injury.

Cronulla are also counting the cost of their 42-16 beatdown of North Queensland, with Paul Gallen and Josh Dugan failing to finish the match.

Newcastle star Kalyn Ponga was shifted back to fullback mid-game against Canberra but it wasn’t enough to prevent a seven-point loss.

James Tedesco led an undermanned Sydney Roosters to a 32-18 win over Parramatta, while Melbourne smashed a toothless Penrith 32-2 in Bathurst.

In an emotional match in Christchurch, Tom Trbojevic made a triumphant return from injury by spearheading Manly to a 46-12 rout of the Warriors.