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Opinion

Veteran Darius Boyd is the answer to Brisbane's troubles

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Roar Rookie
3rd August, 2020
29

Preseason 2020. Anthony Seibold and the young Broncos boys probably wouldn’t have guessed how their season would progress – to the point where the Broncos would possibly be the team to take home the wooden spoon.

Brisbane boasts some of the best young talent coming through. You have wall-to-wall representative players in the making. But 12 rounds in, Brisbane sit on 15th on the ladder with just three wins and nine painful loses.

Opting not to anoint Darius as Brisbane skipper was one bad decision in a pile of plenty. A role that was carried by some of the most decorated players to ever play the game, most notably Darren Lockyer. Darius deserved the captaincy and I reckon would have taken the challenge head on.

Seibold, made an error that’s contributed largely to Brisbane’s poor form. Boyd moved from Fullback, a role his excelled at both for the Roos and Queensland, and him placed at left centre. Why? Apparently there isn’t a experienced left centre at Redhill.

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, fullback and captain of the New Zealand Warriors, is a typical example of shining light in a underperforming team.

Instead of putting your most decorated player to play a visionary role at the back, you place him at centre. Considering the fact that Brisbane possess young guns Kotoni Staggs and Herbie Farnworth, who could have easily cemented their roles as the starting centres back at preseason, this is strange.

Further, I would have loved to see big body Xavier Coates get a run at centre.

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After Friday night’s clinical performance by Boyd, in a heartbreaking loss for Brisbane, it had most of us wondering what would have happened had he had a chance at fullback earlier.

Not taking anything away from Jamayne Issaako or Tesi Nui, but Brisbane needed a guiding light and it was Boyd that would have provided it.

Let’s all be honest here – Tony Milford plays his best footy when he knows he can get that pass to Darius, that sets up their outside man. Milf’s running game is much more elusive when Boyd’s sweeping out back. Inclusion of under-fire halfback Brodie Croft could all but create an intimidating spine. Jack Turpin and Tom Dearden could share the rake role for now.

I am a strong believer in comeback stories. And if we aren’t witnessing a changing of the tides at Brisbane after Friday’s gutsy performance then there are internal issues that need to be resolved up at Red Hill before we start losing more promising talents.

Let’s all hope Brisbane’s woes are now behind them. They only have each other to play for and that’s all the motivation a player should need.

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