Broncos fullback Darius Boyd is far from past it, writes Darren Lockyer

IT would be foolish to suggest Darius Boyd, one of the great fullbacks of his generation, is past it. For the Broncos sake, I hope he’s not. His issue, rather, is largely psychological.

Darius Boyd.

BACK yourself. That would be my advice to Darius Boyd when the Broncos skipper runs out to face his former Knights club on Saturday in Newcastle.

Boyd has come under fire for his recent performances, fuelled by his candid admission last week that he is prepared to retire prematurely if he cannot return to full fitness with his niggling hamstring injury.

There have been all sorts of theories about Brisbane’s attack and whether the Broncos would be better off with Boyd moving into the halves.

Personally, it’s too early to be stripping Boyd of the No. 1 jumper.

The conundrum is that Boyd, in my estimation, is best suited at fullback, but at the moment, his physical and mental battles are impeding his ability to do his job at the back.

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Darius Boyd needs to back himself, writes Darren Lockyer.

It would be foolish to suggest Boyd, one of the great fullbacks of his generation, is past it.

The issue, rather, is largely psychological. He is worrying about his hamstring injury and it has taken the edge off a critical part of his arsenal — his speed in the backfield.

If he is hearing noises in his head about his hamstring, he needs to overcome it, because he needs his speed to be the best he can be at fullback.

The truth is we probably wouldn’t be having this positional discussion if Brisbane’s skipper was in peak form at fullback and felt 100 per cent confident in his hamstring.

What makes Billy Slater so great at the fullback art is his speed and fitness and at the moment Boyd is struggling in that area, which is affecting his ability to perform at his optimum.

He just seems to be lacking the confidence to really back himself and stretch out in the fear that he might do major damage to his hamstring.

That mentality, that fear of a breakdown, can only take two per cent off your game, but at NRL level, that can be the difference between influencing the result of matches, especially given Boyd’s important role in the Broncos spine.

Darius Boyd’s hamstring injury is impeding him at fullback.

At his best, Boyd doesn’t mind throwing the dummy and taking the line on. At the moment, he seems content to catch and pass to preserve his body.

I can empathise with Boyd. When I had my knee reconstruction in 2007, it took me a long time to come to terms with the injury and returning to that headspace where I could attack the line with confidence.

There is a push for Boyd to be handed the No. 6 jumper ahead of Anthony Milford, but the one impediment to that is he is not a natural kicker.

The older you get, the wiser you become at game management.

After 271 NRL games, Boyd has the experience to handle the five-eighth role, but for now fullback is the best spot for him.

Ultimately it’s whether Wayne Bennett wants to move Boyd to five-eighth and at the moment it doesn’t appear that he is.

Boyd’s struggles are merely a snapshot of a wider issue at the Broncos.

There is still a World Cup hangover for a lot of representative players and the shockwaves are being felt at the Broncos. There were some defensive lapses against the Titans which suggested a few guys looked tired and lacked intensity.

Josh McGuire needs to lift against Newcastle. Pic Peter Wallis

Matt Gillett and Josh McGuire were two guys who had a huge campaign last year with the Australian team and they have started the year a little slowly.

Those two guys need to lift in Newcastle.

It will be a hostile occasion considering Bennett’s history with the Knights, so the Broncos — and their captain, Boyd, in particular — have to be mentally ready for the onslaught.

Originally published as Broncos fullback Darius Boyd is far from past it, writes Darren Lockyer