Club great Darren Lockyer believes Brisbane can break the shackles with a polished win against Penrith on Friday night before giving the NRL finals a serious shake next month.
And the four-time premiership winning Bronco says his former halves partner Peter Wallace can play a pivotal role in guiding the club towards a seventh title.
Wallace has worn a lot of the criticism for Brisbane’s six-game losing streak but Lockyer said on Wednesday he felt a number of factors had contributed to Brisbane’s slide down the ladder.
“Halfway through the season Pete was one point off leading the Dally M voting after starting the season off great,” Lockyer told AAP.
“I think with Origin and having had fresh men like Corey Norman and Ben Hunt outside him it’s been a lot tougher for him than it looks.
“It’s not easy being a Bronco under that pressure but Pete is doing his best.”
Wallace may be slightly down on confidence but his work ethic and attitude can’t be questioned.
“I think people have probably underestimated the role Pete has had to play this year,” said Lockyer, who’s seen enough positives to believe Brisbane can still be a threat in the finals.
“They need a polished win on Friday night against Penrith,” he said.
“They’ve been close against those good teams. If they break through, which I think they will, it will be like the shackles have been released.
“All of a sudden the whole mood, confidence, attitude it all changes.
“To win the premiership they’re going to have win five games in a row which is achievable.
“It’s all about timing your run and your momentum into the grand final.”
Wallace said if there were serious flaws in Brisbane’s make-up Manly would have thrashed them last weekend, especially after coming off physically demanding games against Canterbury and Melbourne the previous two weeks.
“Manly could have easily had 30 points on us by half time the way they started if we hadn’t of shown so much resolve to hang tough together,” he said.
“They put together a red hot 15 minutes. They were going the length of the field in sets, getting 40-20s and repeat sets.
“To only concede 16 points and end up 16-6 down at the end I thought was pretty positive.
Brisbane haven’t banked a premiership point in six six weeks but Wallace says there’s still a winning feeling around the club.
“We haven’t got a win but our confidence isn’t shattered,” he said.
“We’ve taken a lot of confidence out of the last few weeks knowing we can match it with the three top teams in the comp.
“Those teams will be there when the whips are cracking, we’ve taken a lot of confidence out of the fact that we stuck it to them.”
Friday night’s game at Suncorp Stadium will be Petero Civoniceva’s last at home with fans allowed onto the field after the match as they were for Lockyer’s farewell last season.
The Broncos said 35,000 tickets have already been sold.
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