2018 NRL Side

[BroncsFan]

From Fox Sports

KEVVY HELPING NIKORIMA TAKE CHARGE
Brisbane playmaker Kodi Nikorima believes he’s ready to step up and be the club’s number one halfback option.
With Ben Hunt heading south to Wollongong, Nikorima will be given first crack at filling the No. 7 jumper at the Broncos.
The 23-year-old played 15 games starting in the halves last year and won 13 of them. He went on to represent New Zealand at the World Cup.
Now he’s ready to steer Wayne Bennett’s premiership hopefuls.
“It was a learning curve for me last year, being my first time playing in the halves in first grade,” Nikorima told NRL.com.
“That is where I saw myself playing when I was coming through the juniors and to get that opportunity was special.
“I feel like there is a lot of improvement left in my game defensively and with my kicking game.
“In attack we need to fine tune what we did last year and go to another level.”
In Nikorima’s favour is the return of Brisbane assistant coach Kevin Walters.

Walters previously assisted Bennett at the club before taking the reins of the Queensland Origin team. But now he’s back at the Broncos.
“With the attack he has brought some plays back and it is all up to us now to jump on board and execute it,” Nikorima said of Walters.
“I was here in 2015 when Kevvy was here and he helped me out a lot then with my kicking game, just what kicks are required at different stages of a game
“One thing about Kevvie is that he is always smiling and he brings a lot of energy. His playing and coaching career speaks for itself and to have him back on board is awesome.”

 

[Browny]

Just win ffs

 

[Kimlo]

KEY MAN: McCullough (as last year’s finals proved) their most important.

Not even close

 

[mitch222]

Kevvie is our real xfactor in the halves. Kodi & Milf will flourish under Kevvie tutelage

 

[Accept]

Kevvie is our real xfactor in the halves. Kodi & Milf will flourish under Kevvie tutelage

Kevie will certainly help but he can't teach them abilities they don't have. I'm not worried about Milf, he will certainly do his job. It's his partner in crime that I have strong reservations about. Just because Kevie is there doesn't mean that Kodi will all of a sudden become a better player.

 

[BroncsFan]

Not even close

Taking into account the squad we had last year and looking at depth in positions the assumption of macca being the most important is plausible.

We had and still have no back up hooker whereas every other position including Milf's at least has a serviceable option. Hence macca being fit, healthy and in form does represent a vitally important cog to the team. The most important is not representative of being the best player in the group.

FWIW I believe the article identifies milf as the key man indicating that he must take control if the broncos are to succeed.

 

[holdzy]

Not even close

All that finals series proved is that Hunt probably should have been a 9 from the get go. That some version of Hunt and Macca alternating at 9 would have been ideal, and let us find a proper halves partner for Milf much earlier, Kodi or otherwise.

 

[Kimlo]

Taking into account the squad we had last year and looking at depth in positions the assumption of macca being the most important is plausible.

We had and still have no back up hooker whereas every other position including Milf's at least has a serviceable option. Hence macca being fit, healthy and in form does represent a vitally important cog to the team. The most important is not representative of being the best player in the group.

FWIW I believe the article identifies milf as the key man indicating that he must take control if the broncos are to succeed.

I understand, and disagree. Boyd is still more important, as is Gillett, Milford, Hunt, etc. Having a lack of 9's doesn't make him suddenly important, he's nothing special, therefore easily replaceable and not so important.

If I had to go order of priority of players I would least like to lose for a big game, Macca would probably be 5 or so on the list, and only gets top 5 because we have bugger all depth.

 

[Foordy]

If I had to go order of priority of players I would least like to lose for a big game, Macca would probably be 5 or so on the list, and only gets top 5 because we have bugger all depth.

Ok mate ... time to put you on the spot ... who are your top 5 :)

 

[holdzy]

Kevie will certainly help but he can't teach them abilities they don't have. I'm not worried about Milf, he will certainly do his job. It's his partner in crime that I have strong reservations about. Just because Kevie is there doesn't mean that Kodi will all of a sudden become a better player.

To be fair, Kev being there seems now in retrospect to be responsible for a lot of our success in '15. It's not necessarily making them individually better players (although I certainly think he did) - it's that the Hunt/Milf combination was a success - and that is what Kev will bring, making the Milf/Kodi combo work, promoting the positives, minimising the negatives.

 

[Kimlo]

Ok mate ... time to put you on the spot ... who are your top 5 :)

CBF listing order but
Boyd
Milford
Gillett
McGuire
Kahu (with his goal kicking)
Roberts are all players I'd have as more important to our team's success.
Macca might be above the last two, but if there was any real hooker depth he'd certainly be under them.

 

[Marty Deutschmann]

Kevie will certainly help but he can't teach them abilities they don't have. I'm not worried about Milf, he will certainly do his job. It's his partner in crime that I have strong reservations about. Just because Kevie is there doesn't mean that Kodi will all of a sudden become a better player.

Wtf haha
I don't know math
Therefore you can't teach me math

 

[winslow_wong]

Kevie will certainly help but he can't teach them abilities they don't have. I'm not worried about Milf, he will certainly do his job. It's his partner in crime that I have strong reservations about. Just because Kevie is there doesn't mean that Kodi will all of a sudden become a better player.

What happened to ben hunt then?

 

[Rhino1001]

The night gets better Boyd has done his hammy. There is a courier mail article on it but I don't have access.

 

[Rhino1001]

Got the article it is a tweak.

DARIUS Boyd’s troublesome hamstring has flared again with the Broncos captain struck down a month out from pre-season trials.
Boyd suffered a “tweak” at training on Monday in the left hamstring which hampered his NRL finals campaign last season.
The injury was not an aggravation of the serious tendon tear which ruled him out of the World Cup.
But it is another sign the Test and Origin star is facing a battle to manage his hamstring issues in the back end of his career.

Managing his body is becoming a priority for Boyd. Photo: Annette Dew
Broncos high performance manager Jeremy Hickmans confirmed Boyd had been placed on a restricted training program.
“He had a little tweak which will slow him down a little bit,” he said.
“It’s nothing too sinister. He will probably be out of skills for a couple of weeks to build it back up again.
“It’s a completely different spot to his other problem. It is related but not completely related.
“It was a decent injury the first one. He did a bit of damage to his tendon. He’s been going really well so it’s a little bit annoying.
“These things happen a little bit in pre-season. Hopefully we can get him back up and ready to go.”

Injury forced Boyd to the sidelines during last year’s finals. Photo: Adam Head
Boyd’s hamstring woes relate to the Achilles injury he suffered in December 2014.
He suffered the tendon injury in Brisbane’s last round match against the Cowboys last year and missed the next two finals, returning in the heavy preliminary final defeat to Melbourne where he looked inconvenienced by the issue.
The 30-year-old fullback signed a four-year contract extension after the 2017 season which will keep him at the Broncos until 2021.
During last year’s finals, Boyd admitted he would have to manage the problem for the remainder of his career.
“I must be smarter about my final seasons,” he said.
“Missing training sessions has never sat well with me but I need to pay more attention to my body, have days off my legs and preserve myself.”

McGuire locks eyes on 2018
The Broncos have been in a pre-season camp on the Sunshine Coast since Tuesday.
Boyd has been restricted in training sessions and is no certainty to feature in Brisbane’s trial matches against the Titans (February 17) and PNG Hunters (February 24).
But Hickmans said he expected the 267-game NRL veteran to be available for Brisbane’s Round 1 clash against former club St George-Illawarra on March 8.
“He is still training, he just can’t do the full-on skills at the moment,” he said. “It’s something we’ve all got to be a bit aware of.
“Unfortunately it’s a bit of a learning curve for all of us. He’s gone from being able to doing everything to now we’ve got to modify his training and prioritise a bit more.
“It’s always difficult when you find out what he can’t do but it’s good to do it now rather than in season. We can work out what his load will be and deal with it best.
“He should be fine (for Round 1) — we are still about eight weeks away from the first game so there is plenty of time.”
Back-up playmaker Troy Dargan also suffered a hamstring injury on Monday, however his is more severe and will see him miss up to a month of training.

 

[Marty Deutschmann]

Got the article it is a tweak.

DARIUS Boyd’s troublesome hamstring has flared again with the Broncos captain struck down a month out from pre-season trials.
Boyd suffered a “tweak” at training on Monday in the left hamstring which hampered his NRL finals campaign last season.
The injury was not an aggravation of the serious tendon tear which ruled him out of the World Cup.
But it is another sign the Test and Origin star is facing a battle to manage his hamstring issues in the back end of his career.

Managing his body is becoming a priority for Boyd. Photo: Annette Dew
Broncos high performance manager Jeremy Hickmans confirmed Boyd had been placed on a restricted training program.
“He had a little tweak which will slow him down a little bit,” he said.
“It’s nothing too sinister. He will probably be out of skills for a couple of weeks to build it back up again.
“It’s a completely different spot to his other problem. It is related but not completely related.
“It was a decent injury the first one. He did a bit of damage to his tendon. He’s been going really well so it’s a little bit annoying.
“These things happen a little bit in pre-season. Hopefully we can get him back up and ready to go.”

Injury forced Boyd to the sidelines during last year’s finals. Photo: Adam Head
Boyd’s hamstring woes relate to the Achilles injury he suffered in December 2014.
He suffered the tendon injury in Brisbane’s last round match against the Cowboys last year and missed the next two finals, returning in the heavy preliminary final defeat to Melbourne where he looked inconvenienced by the issue.
The 30-year-old fullback signed a four-year contract extension after the 2017 season which will keep him at the Broncos until 2021.
During last year’s finals, Boyd admitted he would have to manage the problem for the remainder of his career.
“I must be smarter about my final seasons,” he said.
“Missing training sessions has never sat well with me but I need to pay more attention to my body, have days off my legs and preserve myself.”

McGuire locks eyes on 2018
The Broncos have been in a pre-season camp on the Sunshine Coast since Tuesday.
Boyd has been restricted in training sessions and is no certainty to feature in Brisbane’s trial matches against the Titans (February 17) and PNG Hunters (February 24).
But Hickmans said he expected the 267-game NRL veteran to be available for Brisbane’s Round 1 clash against former club St George-Illawarra on March 8.
“He is still training, he just can’t do the full-on skills at the moment,” he said. “It’s something we’ve all got to be a bit aware of.
“Unfortunately it’s a bit of a learning curve for all of us. He’s gone from being able to doing everything to now we’ve got to modify his training and prioritise a bit more.
“It’s always difficult when you find out what he can’t do but it’s good to do it now rather than in season. We can work out what his load will be and deal with it best.
“He should be fine (for Round 1) — we are still about eight weeks away from the first game so there is plenty of time.”
Back-up playmaker Troy Dargan also suffered a hamstring injury on Monday, however his is more severe and will see him miss up to a month of training.

Tough news on Dargan

 

[Jason Simmons]

Dargan too... Kerrist...

 

[GCBRONCO]

At least its not season ending(hope I haven't jinxed it).