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PRENTICE: Bronco Boyd could prove to be null and void

11th November, 2014
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Any contract for Darius Boyd must be written in Wayne Bennett's handwriting. (AAP Image/Action Photographics, Renee McKay)
Expert
11th November, 2014
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2262 Reads

Wayne Bennett says Darius Boyd is joining the Brisbane Broncos “without any question marks.”

I’m not sure I agree with the veteran mentor on that one – there seems to be a clipboard full of questions that will scream out for answers in 2015.

Here’s just a few of them, and by no means is this an exhaustive list.

Why target and ultimately sign a 27-year-old player when there were better-than-handy, younger options already at the club?

Will showing the door to Josh Hoffman and Ben Barba prove detrimental to team morale?

What does Darius Boyd bring to the Broncos’ corral after a distinctly ordinary and interrupted club season at the Newcastle Knights?

Is he the man who will combine instantly with the likes of Ben Hunt, newcomer Anthony Milford and Andrew McCullough in Brisbane’s new-look spine?

Can there be any guarantee that Darius is over his widely reported mental health issues that put him out of action this year so he could attend rehab in a mental facility?

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On his day, Boyd is a top-line footballer capable of producing winning attacking and defensive plays. But, aside from some classy cameos in the rep arena, those days have been few and far between.

In this instance, I realise there is an unbreakable bond between the player and his coach and, of course, we all should make allowances for anyone battling mental health issues.

Darius says his life has changed for the better after reuniting with his estranged mother in recent times. That’s great, but will it necessarily help him assimilate with his new teammates at the Broncos?

He’s an aloof, introverted character at the best of times, and he may have to contend with some people looking sideways at him for being Bennett’s ‘unofficial son’ of sorts.

I am not sure that Boyd is going to be the smash hit Bennett is hoping for next season and beyond. He might battle to re-establish himself at his original football home.

His stats from his 14 appearances for the Knights last season weren’t good.

Boyd scored just three tries, made four line breaks, five hit-ups and came up with two offloads for a Newcastle team desperate for help from the rep star at the back. In those 14 games, he also missed 11 tackles and made 11 errors.

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In the modern game, fullback has become arguably the most important position on the field and Boyd’s club stats from the season just past hardly inspire confidence.

Of course Bennett, as the incoming coach, is entitled to choose whoever he likes on his player roster.

He obviously feels that Boyd is the best No. 1 on the rugby league planet, but in my mind, he is far from that. Hoffman, who has been snapped up by the neighbouring Gold Coast Titans, looks to be a much safer bet to me.

Time will prove me right or wrong, but I think the coach might be tripping himself up by standing steadfast by his man.

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