Thursday's training offered a possible route back for Nathan Cleary: he worked for an hour and practised general-play kicking, but will not goal-kick if he plays on Sunday.
The Panthers halfback was named on the interchange for the preliminary final against Newcastle at Accor Stadium as he manages a serious foot injury.
Explaining the decision, Ivan Cleary said: "Just to take him out of the biggest impact at the start of the game," the Panthers coach said.
Ivan Cleary said: "He has (been limited). He's done a bunch of different stuff over a couple of weeks. Ultimately we are really happy with where we went from there."
Asked when Cleary might take the field, Ivan Cleary offered little detail: "We've got a plan. We've got a few actually," he said.
Alexander said Cleary's coach and the medical team were focused on winning the premiership while managing his injury.
They believed keeping him out of the opening 20 minutes' physical contest could help him finish the match and recover for another game, if one followed.