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Latrell Mitchell's calf injury has ruled him out of State of Origin II in a significant blow to NSW's hopes of levelling the series in Brisbane.

Initially named 18th man, Penrith's Stephen Crichton will replace Mitchell at left centre at Suncorp Stadium on June 21, having already done so in NSW's Game I loss last month.

Canterbury co-captain Matt Burton was promoted to 18th man for the series opener and will join camp to reprise the role for Game II.

Mitchell's South Sydney teammate Keaon Koloamatangi remains 19th man.

Mitchell tweaked his calf during the Blues' camp for Game I and has not played since, but resumed running at training over the long weekend so was named on Brad Fittler's team sheet on Tuesday.

But Souths coach Jason Demetriou told AAP Mitchell still had hurdles to clear before he could be approved to play in the must-win second Origin game.

Fittler conceded it had been a "risk" naming Mitchell as well as Cam Murray and Liam Martin, who are under injury clouds of their own but are tracking to play.

Mitchell missed NSW's whole-squad media day on Wednesday, instead consulting with the Blues' physiotherapists.

His teammates shrugged off that absence at the time, but the following afternoon, on the first rest day of the Blues' camp, it was confirmed the Rabbitohs star would miss the second Origin game.

"The decision was made by Westpac NSW Blues coach Brad Fittler, Mitchell and the medical staff after they determined he would not have overcome the injury in time for the game at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Wednesday 21 June," an NSWRL statement read.

NSW would have been counting on Mitchell, one of the most explosive players in the NRL, to help spark their attack in Brisbane after they faltered in Game I.

Instead, he sits out a fifth consecutive Origin match. Mitchell missed the first two games of last year's series with a hamstring injury, then withdrew from contention for the third to focus on club football.

Filling in for Mitchell, Crichton was one of NSW's best in the series opener, scoring the try that gave them the lead for the first time in the final 15 minutes.

He has already been training in Mitchell's place in the first two days of camp and will do so again when the Blues return to Coogee Oval on Friday morning.

"As 18th man, I'll just be ready for anything," Crichton told AAP on Wednesday.

"Basically it's just anything for the team."

Wednesday's match will be Crichton's fifth for NSW.

© AAP 2023

A coroner is set to outline issues for the forthcoming inquest into the deadly shootout that claimed the lives of two police officers and four other people on a remote Queensland property.

A pre-inquest conference, with State Coroner Terry Ryan presiding, on Thursday will establish what findings need to be made over the deaths and will be followed by inquest hearings later.

Queensland Police constables Matthew Joseph Arnold, 26, and Rachel Clare McCrow, 29, along with two other officers attended a property at Wieambilla, on the Western Downs on December 12.

The four officers were there to carry out a welfare check and to follow up on reports of a COVID-19 state border closure breach but were fired upon when they approached the property.

Constables Arnold and McCrow were wounded and then fatally shot at close range in what Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers described as a "ruthless and calculated execution".

A male officer was able to escape in a police vehicle while another female officer fled into bushland.

The three suspects in the shooting, Gareth Daniel Train, 47, Nathaniel Charles Train, 46, and Stacey Jane Train, 45, lit fires in an attempt to flush out the escaping female officer.

The Trains also shot dead Alan Thomas Dare, 58, who went from his neighbouring property to investigate.

The trio were shot dead by emergency response officers who entered the property six hours later with the aid of armoured vehicles and a helicopter.

© AAP 2023

Four police officers had no interaction with the residents of a remote Queensland property before they opened fire and killed two constables, the coroner has heard.

State Coroner Terry Ryan presided over a pre-inquest conference in Brisbane on Thursday to establish what findings need to be made over the shooting deaths of the two police officers and four other people at Wieambilla on the Western Downs on December 12.

Counsel assisting the inquest, Ruth O'Gorman KC, told the conference that the deaths of Constables Matthew Joseph Arnold, 26, and Rachel Clare McCrow, 29, and neighbour Alan Dare, 58, "shocked the Queensland community" and had caused great distress and grief.

Constables Arnold and McCrow were wounded and then fatally shot at close range within 10 minutes of entering the property for a welfare check on a missing person.

The three suspects in the shooting, Gareth Daniel Train, 47, Nathaniel Charles Train, 46, and Stacey Jane Train, 45, lit fires in an attempt to flush out a female officer who escaped being shot.

Mr Dare was shot dead when he went to investigate and the Trains were shot dead by emergency response officers who entered the property six hours later.

Ms Gorman said the body-worn camera footage from the two officers had "no interaction" with any residents at the property before one or more of the Trains opened fire.

Mr Dare was recording a video on his phone when he was shot that also showed he had no interaction with the Trains before he was killed.

Ms O'Gorman said due to the great public interest in the proceedings, she would give more information than usual at this early stage.

Public hearings into the deaths and possible ways to prevent a similar incident in the future will not start until 2024 because the coroner must wait for a "complex" investigation to finish.

"A highly significant body of work has been undertaken and will continue to be undertaken," Ms O"Gorman said.

The pre-inquest conference was told that Police Ethical Standards Command had started its investigation soon after the deaths and had contacted 152 witnesses and gathered 325 exhibits, including phone records for each of the Trains going back six years.

Ms O'Gorman said the investigation had involved "significant resources ... breadth and complexity" and, along with a report to the coroner, it would not likely be finished until the end of the year.

"We're not in position to give the likely timing beyond that hearings will be held in 2024 and can not indicate how long the inquest will take," Ms O"Gorman said.

The inquest will include looking into the online activities of the Trains "identify possible associates who may have influenced them in their actions" and how NSW Police communicated with their Queensland counterparts when requesting they attend the Wieambilla property.

Solicitor for the McCrow and Arnold families, Peter Lyons, said outside court that his clients "want to know the answers like any grieving families would ... this was a very tragic series of events".

© AAP 2023