With the Broncos so banged up that they had to request an NRL exemption to select players from outside their Top 30 for Friday's clash with the Bulldogs, former rugby union winger Xavier Willison has put his hand up to guide them through the crisis.
After starting at lock last week in place of the suspended Pat Carrigan, 23-year-old Willison will rise to the challenge again in Round 8 as a starter for just the 18th time in his 59-game career.
“I want to do the jersey proud – it has a lot of history so while I’m in it, I want to do my best in it," Willison told NRL.com
“I’d like to push for that starting position. If they can see me doing my job for the team, that will hopefully be in my future."
When Payne Haas exited the contest just before half-time last Saturday night with a knee injury, Willison merely put his foot firmer on the accelerator joined by Ben Talty, Jordan Riki and Jack Gosiewski.
Willison topped the Broncos in run metres (172), post-contact metres (68) and tackles (54). Throw in four tackle breaks and two offloads for good measure.
“That’s our main thing – next man up will do the job,” he said. “It starts with our prep during the week at training and getting that right.
“Everyone training well brings the standard up.”
When Haas went off, Willison, who stands at 205cm and weighs 123kg, let no negative thoughts creep in as he pushed through 72 minutes.
“I just thought, ‘OK, it’s my time’. I didn’t get panicked or anything. I just stayed calm and tried to keep producing under pressure I guess," he said.
“I don’t really mind – second row, lock – I just want to be out there. So anywhere in the middle basically."
That philosophy has earned him Maori All Stars selection and two Tests for the Kiwis, with that likely to be extended by New Zealand at this year’s World Cup.
It has also greatly impressed coach Michael Maguire.
“I’ve got players who are growing, like Xavier,” Maguire said. “He was excellent [against the Tigers]. He played plenty of time and obviously saw one of his good mates in Payno go to the sideline.
“He had to roll the sleeves up and spend more time out there. He’s one of the guys that doesn’t get talked about a lot but he’s someone who’s really telling in the team at the moment.”
Scouted by the Broncos and brought to Australia as a 15-year-old, Willison was enrolled at the fertile rugby league arena of Palm Beach-Currumbin High School on the Gold Coast.
He played for Norths, Wynnum Manly and Burleigh in Queensland Cup (2021-224), while also playing a handful of NRL games. He made his debut in Round 20, 2021, with a win over the Cowboys and scored his first NRL try the following week against the Knights.
NRL.com
