McHunt
NRL Player
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TL;DR: Respected former captain refuses to acknowledge current joke of a captain is a spent force.
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Brisbane Broncos premiership hopes rest on Darius Boyd’s mojo, writes Darren Lockyer
Darren Lockyer,
The Courier-Mail
an hour ago
Subscriber only
Darius Boyd needs to rediscover his mojo in attack for the Broncos to have any hope of being a legitimate threat in the run to the finals. Since his move from fullback to five-eighth six weeks ago, I have been impressed with Boyd’s defensive bravery in the frontline and while Thursday night’s great escape against the Cowboys was scrappy, he has largely brought more composure to Brisbane’s attack. But with ball in hand, Darius isn’t getting involved enough. I’d like to see the skipper stamp his offensive mark on the Broncos.
Darius Boyd has had a tough year for Brisbane. Picture: Ian Hitchcock
Boyd had 13 touches against the Cowboys with one run for two metres. The week prior, in Brisbane’s heavy 40-4 loss to the Storm, he had one run for five metres. That’s two runs for seven metres in 160 minutes of football. Anthony Milford, the man with whom Boyd has switched roles, averaged 106 running metres per game in his past four years at five-eighth, underlining why coach Anthony Seibold believes he can be even more lethal with freedom in the backfield.
Darren Lockyer has been impressed with Boyd’s defence in the front line. Picture: Darren England
It takes time to handle such an important positional shift and at this stage of the season, it would be unfair to expect Boyd to be operating as a playmaker with the poise and precision of Cooper Cronk or Cameron Smith. But as he learns the nuances of the five-eighth craft, Boyd can be a threat in other ways, chiefly by backing himself to run the ball and bring some penetration to Brisbane’s scrumbase. The reality is Brisbane’s current standard of play won’t cut it in the finals.
Anthony Milford’s move to fullback has had success. Picture: Darren England
With ostensibly two makeshift halves in Boyd and Jake Turpin, who has been superb at halfback holding the fort following Tom Dearden’s ankle injury, Brisbane’s playmaking spine isn’t equipped to run the structures that will win the sudden-death finals games against Melbourne, the Roosters and South Sydney. But Boyd and Turpin can offer some potency by straightening the attack and asking questions of the opposition defence. Turpin’s last-minute heroics in Townsville, picking up a loose pass and backing himself to score from close range, was precisely the type of attacking venom Boyd has the talent to produce.
Granted, at 32, Boyd is older and slower than the energetic, tackle-busting ace who won the Clive Churchill Medal at the Dragons in 2010, but at 96kg, Darius still has the size and enough pace to trouble defenders in contact situations. I still believe the Boyd experiment at five-eighth can work. His defence in the past month has been outstanding, headlined by his crunching front-on shot when Cowboys winger Gideon Gela-Mosby tried to steamroll him. But unless Boyd decides to play a more direct role in attack, he and his outside men will be easy pickings for teams like Penrith and Souths, whom they meet in the next two weeks in consecutive home games.
The conundrum for coach Seibold is whether he brings Dearden back into the starting side at halfback. Tom copped a minor knock in his return from injury last week in the Intrust Super Cup, but thankfully it wasn’t serious and he will be available in the run to the playoffs. Given his two-month absence from the NRL, and his tender years at 18, it might be a risk to recall Dearden at such a critical stage of the season. Turpin would be the first to admit he is not a natural halfback, but his competitive fire inspires the players around him. His energy, commitment, discipline and defensive mongrel are exactly the qualities that prevail in the finals … but the Broncos have to get there first.
Category: | The Courier Mail
Brisbane Broncos premiership hopes rest on Darius Boyd’s mojo, writes Darren Lockyer
Darren Lockyer,
The Courier-Mail
an hour ago
Subscriber only
Darius Boyd needs to rediscover his mojo in attack for the Broncos to have any hope of being a legitimate threat in the run to the finals. Since his move from fullback to five-eighth six weeks ago, I have been impressed with Boyd’s defensive bravery in the frontline and while Thursday night’s great escape against the Cowboys was scrappy, he has largely brought more composure to Brisbane’s attack. But with ball in hand, Darius isn’t getting involved enough. I’d like to see the skipper stamp his offensive mark on the Broncos.
Darius Boyd has had a tough year for Brisbane. Picture: Ian Hitchcock
Boyd had 13 touches against the Cowboys with one run for two metres. The week prior, in Brisbane’s heavy 40-4 loss to the Storm, he had one run for five metres. That’s two runs for seven metres in 160 minutes of football. Anthony Milford, the man with whom Boyd has switched roles, averaged 106 running metres per game in his past four years at five-eighth, underlining why coach Anthony Seibold believes he can be even more lethal with freedom in the backfield.
Darren Lockyer has been impressed with Boyd’s defence in the front line. Picture: Darren England
It takes time to handle such an important positional shift and at this stage of the season, it would be unfair to expect Boyd to be operating as a playmaker with the poise and precision of Cooper Cronk or Cameron Smith. But as he learns the nuances of the five-eighth craft, Boyd can be a threat in other ways, chiefly by backing himself to run the ball and bring some penetration to Brisbane’s scrumbase. The reality is Brisbane’s current standard of play won’t cut it in the finals.
Anthony Milford’s move to fullback has had success. Picture: Darren England
With ostensibly two makeshift halves in Boyd and Jake Turpin, who has been superb at halfback holding the fort following Tom Dearden’s ankle injury, Brisbane’s playmaking spine isn’t equipped to run the structures that will win the sudden-death finals games against Melbourne, the Roosters and South Sydney. But Boyd and Turpin can offer some potency by straightening the attack and asking questions of the opposition defence. Turpin’s last-minute heroics in Townsville, picking up a loose pass and backing himself to score from close range, was precisely the type of attacking venom Boyd has the talent to produce.
Granted, at 32, Boyd is older and slower than the energetic, tackle-busting ace who won the Clive Churchill Medal at the Dragons in 2010, but at 96kg, Darius still has the size and enough pace to trouble defenders in contact situations. I still believe the Boyd experiment at five-eighth can work. His defence in the past month has been outstanding, headlined by his crunching front-on shot when Cowboys winger Gideon Gela-Mosby tried to steamroll him. But unless Boyd decides to play a more direct role in attack, he and his outside men will be easy pickings for teams like Penrith and Souths, whom they meet in the next two weeks in consecutive home games.
The conundrum for coach Seibold is whether he brings Dearden back into the starting side at halfback. Tom copped a minor knock in his return from injury last week in the Intrust Super Cup, but thankfully it wasn’t serious and he will be available in the run to the playoffs. Given his two-month absence from the NRL, and his tender years at 18, it might be a risk to recall Dearden at such a critical stage of the season. Turpin would be the first to admit he is not a natural halfback, but his competitive fire inspires the players around him. His energy, commitment, discipline and defensive mongrel are exactly the qualities that prevail in the finals … but the Broncos have to get there first.
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