NRL 2024: Corey Jensen set to get first crack at replacing Tom Flegler in Broncos team
The Broncos have decided on which player will get the first opportunity to replace Tom Flegler after a three-way battle to partner enforcer Payne Haas.
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Broncos coach Kevin Walters is set to make his first big selection call, revealing unsung hero Corey Jensen is the front-runner to win Tom Flegler’s coveted front-row spot for Brisbane’s season opener in Las Vegas.
The battle to replace Dolphins defector Flegler heats up on Sunday when Jensen, Fletcher Baker and Martin Taupau face the Cowboys in an NRL pre-season challenge trial in Mackay.
Baker was originally tipped to partner Payne Haas in the front row, with the Broncos poaching the 107kg hulk from the Roosters when Flegler opted for a fresh chapter at the Dolphins this season.
But quiet achiever Jensen has rocketed into the frame to start at prop for Brisbane’s historic 2024 premiership kick-off against the Roosters in America on March 3 after a bumper pre-season.
Just turned 30, Jensen will start alongside Haas against the Cowboys on Sunday and can cement the No.8 jumper with a dominant display against his former club at Mackay’s BB Print Stadium.
“He has been rewarded for the work he has done in pre-season,” Walters said of Jensen.
“His body shape is great and he can transfer that into some great footy.
“We’re still up in the air (on finalising the top 17), we’ll see how we go in the trials, but Corey has the inside running for that position (to replace Flegler).
“There’s still a few guys we are talking about and discussing for a number of positions.
“That’s why it’s important these guys do well in the trials.”
Nicknamed ‘Mudcrab’, Jensen has become a valuable member of Brisbane’s squad, playing 39 games since his arrival from the Cowboys two years ago.
A member of North Queensland’s 2017 grand-final squad, Jensen started in six of 21 matches last year, but was left shattered after just missing selection for Brisbane’s biggest game of the season — their loss to Penrith in the NRL decider.
The Broncos will sorely miss Flegler’s size and aggression but in Jensen, Brisbane possess a 97-game toiler whose experience will complement the relentless metre-eating machine that is Haas.
The Broncos will roll out their big guns on Sunday, including Reece Walsh, Selwyn Cobbo, Adam Reynolds, Pat Carrigan and Haas, before leaving on Thursday for a camp in Los Angeles to prepare for Vegas.
Carrigan and Reynolds were cleared to play by the NRL Integrity Unit on Friday following their drunken spat and Walters is relieved to have his star duo on deck for round 1.
“I don’t think that was ever in jeopardy, but it’s good news for them,” Walters said.
“They now get an opportunity to blow some cobwebs out up there against the Cowboys and then we will head over to Vegas for round one which is great news for us.
“We’re a really tight group as it is. These sorts of things can go two ways, but I feel we’re a really tight group of young men and they want to get out now and play some footy.”
While the Cowboys have named a second-string outfit, Walters challenged his big guns to impress in their only hitout before Vegas.
“Everyone will get some game time from 20 minutes to 40 minutes,” he said.
“I feel their first stint is all they will get and they have to make the most of that.
“It’s only a trial game but it’s really important for us to start with our basics and build into the season for round one.
“I want us to get something out of this game, rather than just playing a trial.”
HAAS: THE DAY I’LL KNOW I SHOULD QUIT NRL
Broncos superstar Payne Haas has issued a chilling warning to his NRL rivals, declaring he is hungry to get better and won’t go backwards without his front-row partner-in-crime Tom Flegler.
Haas makes his first appearance of the 2024 season when he spearheads Brisbane’s pack in a trial against the Cowboys in Mackay on Sunday in the absence of Flegler, who has defected to expansion rivals the Dolphins.
The Haas-Flegler alliance became a potent force for the Broncos, with the engine-room enforcers’ fusion of size, work-rate and aggression underpinning Brisbane’s charge to last year’s grand final.
Underlining his greatness, Haas claimed a fifth straight Paul Morgan Medal last season as Brisbane’s player of the year, but there are fears the club’s first $1 million prop will struggle to maintain his dominance without the supportive muscle of Flegler.
Haas, however, said Flegler’s departure will only motivate him to find another level as the NSW and Test sensation vowed to leave no stone unturned to snap Brisbane’s 18-year title drought this season.
“I’m hungry to get better,” said Haas, who will start against the Cowboys in Mackay alongside front-row cohort Corey Jensen.
“I feel like the day I get complacent is the day I will give up football.
“I can’t wait to play on Sunday, it’s my only hitout before we go to Vegas (for Brisbane’s season opener on March 3) so I can’t wait to be back out there and test myself for round 1.
“I’m always working hard and trying to be the best version of myself and my family.
“My work ethic never changes. I want success.”
Haas tabled the best season of his career in 2023, amassing a whopping 4315 running metres at an average of 187m per game, plus 113 tackle busts as he tore opposition defences around the rucks.
In Flegler, Haas found the perfect support act, a raw-boned tearaway who last year found the right balance between aggression and discipline, posting a career-best 2419 running metres.
There is a view the loss of Flegler will deliver a serious dent to Brisbane’s title aspirations, but Haas is confident Jensen, new recruit Fletcher Baker and young gun Xavier Willison can step up.
“’Fleg’ is going to be sorely missed, but we have Corey Jensen there, he has been training the house down, so I can’t wait to get that combination going with him,” Haas said.
“And I feel like Fletcher Baker (Roosters recruit) has been really good. He has fitted in really well and I’m excited to see what happens with ‘Fletch’.
“I feel like he is going to shock a few people this year.”
Of 11-game rookie Willison, Haas said: “He can be a weapon for us. He will probably start off the bench at the start of the year, but I feel he will be good at the back end of the year and come into his own.
“We will see what happens. I don’t want to put too much pressure on these kids, I just want them to enjoy their footy and train hard.
“You have to work hard to get that kind of status, so it’s up to Xavier, we will see what happens.”
BAKER, WILLISON TO PRESS CLAIMS TO PARTNER HAAS IN VEGAS
Brisbane are set for front-row fireworks with monster Roosters recruit Fletcher Baker to be unleashed for his Broncos debut in the battle to partner Payne Haas in Las Vegas.
The Broncos’ major off-season purchase, the hulking 107kg Baker will appear for the first time in Brisbane colours in their NRL pre-season challenge trial against the Cowboys in Mackay on Sunday.
The front row is Brisbane’s most contentious area ahead of their historic premiership opener against the Roosters in Sin City on Sunday, March 3 (AEST).
Baker is locked in a four-way scrap to join superstar Haas in the engine room, with Corey Jensen, Martin Taupau and young gun Xavier Willison eyeing the No.8 jumper vacated by Tom Flegler’s defection to the Dolphins.
The Broncos are banking on Baker to add some Flegler-style size and mongrel to their pack and the raw-boned 24-year-old gets a golden chance to flex his muscle against the Cowboys.
Baker will come off the bench in the hitout against the Cowboys at Mackay Stadium and former Broncos captain Corey Parker backed the 194cm brute to fill the Flegler void.
“This is a great chance for Baker to impress,” said 347-game club legend Parker.
“From what I have seen of him, I have no doubt he has what it takes to replace Tom Flegler.
“His first opportunity comes this week. Footy is about opportunities and taking them when they come.
“Maybe Fletcher wasn’t getting the right opportunities at the Roosters, but there’s a great opportunity for him to be a starting front-rower this year at the Broncos and I see no reason why he can’t do it.”
Willison made a strong statement in last week’s 26-16 trial defeat of Wynnum Manly and the 11-game rookie can submit another compelling claim for the Maori team in Friday night’s Indigenous All Stars clash in Townsville.
Broncos coach Kevin Walters is keeping his front-row aspirants on their toes, saying Baker and Willison are right in the mix to lead a new era for Brisbane’s engine room.
“We have high expectations for Xavier this year,” Walters said.
“We have spent a lot of time working on his game.
“He will be in the All Stars game so that will be another step up for him from a physical point of view, and then we will look at Xavier for Vegas.”
Baker made his NRL debut in 2021, playing 46 games in three seasons with the Roosters, but struggled to break into a starting pack led by Lindsay Collins and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.
The Broncos lured him north with a two-year offer and Parker believes Baker - born in 1999, the same year as Flegler - can forge a lethal alliance with Haas.
“I like the size of him and while they will miss the aggression of Flegler, from what I’ve seen, his best football is still ahead of him,” Parker said.
“I know Cooper Cronk (Queensland Origin legend) had a wrap on him at the Roosters, so I think he’s a good signing.
“He might not have the leg speed or footwork of ‘Flegs’, but he is a big body and a different shape to Payne Haas and Pat Carrigan which is important in the make-up of your forward pack.
“Baker comes from a good system at the Roosters, he looks motivated and he’s eager. He is only 24, so he has plenty of time on his side for a developing front-rower.
“I think he will be a handy pick up for the Broncos.”
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