Wayne Bennett believes Broncos can claim NRL glory without Andrew McCullough

WAYNE Bennett says Brisbane can go all the way without Andrew McCullough by dusting off the tactical masterstroke that won the Broncos their last title.

Brisbane Broncos player Ben Hunt (centre) during a training session in Brisbane, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2017. The Broncos will play the Gold Coast Titans in their round 22 NRL clash. (AAP Image/Darren England) NO ARCHIVING

WAYNE Bennett has declared the Broncos can win the title without Andrew McCullough as the super coach prepares to dust off the tactical masterstroke that delivered Brisbane’s last premiership.

On the eve of Saturday’s derby clash against the Titans, Bennett hit back at detractors who believe the Broncos are title pretenders following the season-ending loss of inspirational hooker McCullough.

Bennett will launch his Plan B premiership blueprint when he rolls out Ben Hunt and Kodi Nikorima in a hooker-halfback alliance against the Titans at Cbus Super Stadium.

The loss of McCullough has rocked Brisbane’s premiership ambitions but Bennett is deriving confidence from the tactical ploy that inspired the Broncos’ most recent title 11 years ago.

Hunt will switch to hooker to cover for the loss of McCullough.

In 2006, Bennett handed “Mr Fixit” Shaun Berrigan the No. 9 jumper eight weeks out from the finals after Casey McGuire struggled to replace injured first-choice rake Michael Ennis.

Berrigan went on to play the game of his life in the grand final, shutting down Storm ace Greg Inglis to win the Clive Churchill Medal in Brisbane’s epic 15-8 victory.

Now Bennett believes Hunt has sufficient time to come to terms with the nuances of dummy-half play and emulate Berrigan by being a late-season X-factor — starting against the Titans.

“We can still win it,” Bennett told The Courier-Mail.

Shaun Berrigan was one of the Broncos best when they won the 2006 premiership.

“The best thing is we have five weeks to make something of this season.

“We will certainly miss ‘Macca’, he has been great this year, but I’m confident we are a strong enough team to overcome this adversity and win it.

“Ben Hunt will get the job done. All season we have had key injuries in key positions and we have still managed to maintain a pretty high standard of football.

“I don’t see us slipping any more without Andrew McCullough.”

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Bennett believes the Broncos can learn lessons from their 2015 grand-final nemesis the Cowboys, who have stayed in touch with the top four despite the mid-season loss of playmaking maestro Johnathan Thurston.

“You can see the Cowboys are a much better team now than when Thurston first got injured,” Bennett said.

“They are getting used to playing with each other now and guys like Michael Morgan are taking more responsibility.

Hunt and Milford remain the key players for Brisbane.

“That will happen within our team.

“If we lost Macca a week out (from the finals), it would have been an entirely different scenario but we have five weeks before the finals even start.

“That gives us time to get it right.

“This premiership race is wide open. We just have to nail things down now and have a belief that we can do something in the finals.”

Penrith’s 2003 premiership hero Scott Sattler is adamant Hunt will have a Berrigan-style influence.

“Berrigan helped the Broncos win the grand final in 2006 and I have no doubt they can do it again,” Sattler said.

“I’ve always felt Ben Hunt is a better hooker than he is a halfback.

“Hunt is a great runner of the ball so if anything, the Broncos could gain a bit more speed and power around the rucks.

“The Broncos traditionally have never been a one-man band as a club. If Hunt settles well in the No. 9 jumper, they are in a position to win the comp.”

Originally published as Wayne Bennett believes Broncos can claim NRL glory without Andrew McCullough