Brisbane lock Pat Carrigan is open to a positional switch to prop if it is in the best interests of the team.
Test forward Carrigan, the Broncos player of the year in 2024, may be switched from his No.13 role to accommodate forward Kobe Hetherington who has set his sights on a starting lock spot.
Hetherington, who has come off the bench for most of his career, had been given permission to negotiate with other clubs under former coach Kevin Walters.
As soon as new coach Michael Maguire arrived, he let Hetherington know he was wanted and in his plans as a starter.
Carrigan has played as a prop at club and representative level and is happy to put a team-first mentality before anything else.
"I think we're just playing with a few things at the moment as a club, but I'll always put this club first and my teammates first and whatever position I have to play, it is what it is," he said.
"It's not too dissimilar to me."
Carrigan said Hetherington would make a fine fist as a lock forward in the NRL.
"Kobe's a fine talent that's more than capable of playing 13 at any other club in the NRL," he said.
"We're both competing for whatever spot it is in the forward back, to be honest. So the more we work hard and work with each other the better we're both going to be. So I love playing with him.
"He's a tough old fella, reminds me of some of those old (Broncos forwards), so I'm excited for what he's going to do this year because he's got a really good preseason."
Carrigan has a ball-playing aspect to his game that he gets to showcase at lock, but said he could do the same as a front-rower after working with assistant coach Trent Barrett on adding attacking wares to his game.
"I've really enjoyed working with him so far on attack and he's going to keep encouraging me to play my game and play what I see," Carrigan said.
"And to be honest, I've really enjoyed adding a couple of strings to my bow and doing some things with him.
" I just want to keep working on things and play my brand of footy. And I mean, to be honest, at the end of the day, whatever number you wear it's just a number, right? So, I'm not too fazed."
Canberra Times
