Brisbane captain Darius Boyd warns other teams not to underestimate the Broncos

Brisbane might be viewed as an easy target in the first week of the finals but skipper Darius Boyd has warned their opponents to write off the Broncos at their own risk.

Darius Boyd of the Brisbane Broncos poses for a photo during the NRL Finals series launch in Sydney, Monday, September 9, 2019. (AAP Image/Joel Carrett) NO ARCHIVING

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Maligned Brisbane skipper Darius Boyd says the Broncos are revelling in their underdog status and has vowed to come out swinging in Sunday’s sudden-death finals showdown with the Eels.

The Broncos have sickening memories of their last visit to Parramatta after they were thumped 38-10 by the Eels in Round 14 at their new $360 million Bankwest home in one of Brisbane’s worst performances of the season.

But the Broncos’ heart-stopping 17-16 extra-time defeat of the Eels a fortnight ago at Suncorp Stadium was evidence Brisbane have the forward firepower to match Parramatta’s monster pack led by 123kg Junior Paulo.

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Brisbane defeated Parramatta two weeks ago. AAP Image/Joel Carrett.

The Cowboys famously charged to the 2017 grand final from eighth spot and Boyd is quietly confident the Broncos possess the individual game-breakers to send the Eels crashing out of the title race.

“It’s backs to the wall this week,” Boyd said.

“Going down to Parra, no one really gives us a chance to win and we seem to play our best football in that position.

“This is exciting. There’s eight other teams who would like to be in our position. We have a big job to do against Parramatta and we beat them two weeks ago, even though it was at Suncorp.”

Brisbane will field one of the most inexperienced teams in the playoffs with five players – Jake Turpin, Payne Haas, Pat Carrigan, Rhys Kennedy and Tom Flegler – to receive their finals baptism at Bankwest Stadium.

But Boyd is adamant Brisbane’s collective of teenagers and first-season rookies will not get stage fright in front of 25,000 rabid Eels fans.

“That’s what the finals is all about,” he said.

“It’s a different competition and we’ll go down there to a packed stadium.

Brisbane scraped into the finals in eighth spot. Picture by Phil Hillyard.

“Our young guys ... some of them have already played Origin and had some big games against Souths and Parra the last three weeks and they were like finals intensity.

“We play at Suncorp where we get 30,000 to 40,000 so our young guys won’t be overawed by the occasion. We will go down to Parra and have a crack.”

Boyd has never played finals football at five-eighth and says he is increasingly comfortable in the position after his mid-season move into the frontline.

“I’m enjoying the role, it’s a bit different,” he said.

“I have played my whole career at fullback but ‘Seibs’ (coach Anthony Seibold) has given us a great game plan in regards to me playing like a second fullback.

“There are a lot of similarities between five-eighth and fullback. The ball-playing is similar, it’s more about me calling the shots in the frontline.

“I am just enjoying my footy and being motivated to play well at five-eighth. It would be good to get a pre-season to work on my skills there and get really comfortable in the role.”