Darren Lockyer has cautioned the Broncos against blooding teenage halfback Coby Black, despite the side losing both their playmakers on Thursday night.
In an extraordinary moment, Adam Reynolds and Ezra Mam both suffered hamstring injuries on the same play in the 22-2 loss against the Storm, putting a major dent in their premiership hopes with a month left until the finals.
Both players were chasing a runaway Xavier Coates but pulled up lame and limped off the field, straight up the tunnel and into the AAMI Park sheds.
In the second half, Selwyn Cobbo would add to the woes for Brisbane when he also left the field with a hamstring injury, capping off a horror night in Melbourne.
The attention will now turn to who replaces the superstar trio, especially in the halves.
Speaking to media post-game, head coach Michael Maguire admitted he was yet to look into what the best move would be for the Broncos, while also heaping praise on the players who competed for the full 80 minutes in testing conditions.
“We’ll be right, we’ve got people in the background that can come in,” he said.
“I’ll talk to the players and go through that, but I haven’t really thought about that.
“It’s a bit of a shame, but I’m really proud of the way the players performed. It was crazy, to be honest – I have never experienced that.”
When both playmakers went down, Maguire turned to the experienced Ben Hunt to fill the void at halfback, while centre Kotoni Staggs switched to five-eighth.
Hunt will almost certainly wear the No.7 jumper moving forward with Reynolds out of action, but the five-eighth role will be up for grabs.
Jock Madden is the logical choice after his recent return from a pectoral injury, while Billy Walters has also spent time in the halves during his NRL career.
But the wildcard in the mix is the uncapped Black, who has featured in the U19s State of Origin game for Queensland in the past two years and has massive raps on him.
Andrew Johns floated the teen as a potential option in the No.6 jumper during Nine’s post-show coverage – but according to one of Brisbane’s all-time greats in Lockyer, it might not be the wisest move for coach Maguire to make before the finals.
“It’s a unique situation,” he said.
“I think it’s obviously up to Madge, but the key right now is that he still wants to go as far as he can in this season and try to win the premiership.
“I think bringing Coby in at this point in time is a huge risk in terms of their chances of winning big games, because he’s just a kid.
“I think Ben Hunt goes to seven and potentially Billy Walters goes to six and you bring in Cory Paix and Tyson Smoothy as your combination of hookers.
“That’s probably where I think it sits right now, but at the same time if Madge is thinking differently, Coby is an option to try and get an understanding of how good he is.”
Black has registered eight try assists and scored five tries in 15 reserve grade games this season for the Souths Logan Magpies.
The other left-field option for the Broncos could see them reunite the 2015 grand final pairing of Hunt and Anthony Milford, with the latter plying his trade for the Magpies.
