Brisbane must switch Darius Boyd back to fullback for semi-final with Parramatta

Brisbane have made the finals but they need something extra if they are going to make a dent in September - and it can come via captain Darius Boyd writes ROBERT CRADDOCK.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 07: Darius Boyd of the Broncos passes the ball during the round 25 NRL match between the Canterbury Bulldogs and the Brisbane Broncos at ANZ Stadium on September 07, 2019 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Brett Hemmings/Getty Images)

• RATINGS: Headless Broncos on the ropes

• FINALS: Brisbane sneak in

The Broncos are fortunate to make the finals so why not ride the luck and surprise Parramatta with the dice roll needed for some September magic?

Like bringing Anthony Milford back to five-eighth and switching Darius Boyd back to his old spot at fullback or wider in the backline.

Last year 32 points was the cut-off point for the top eight. The Broncos have managed to sneak in this year with just 25 but they have the chance to embrace the cavalier philosophy the Cowboys adopted in 2017 when the Cows relied on other results to sneak into the eight then rode their good fortune all the way to the grand final.

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Should Boyd move back to fullback. Photo by Brett Hemmings/Getty Images.

Brisbane probably don’t have the cattle to repeat that. It’s clear if the Broncos are going to make a dent in the finals they need something extra, an X-factor, and Milford can provide it

by touching the ball more than he does at fullback, giving the Broncos attack more spark.

TOUGH MEDICINE

Retiring Cowboys chairman Laurence Lancini would have got an approving nod from Wayne Bennett when he said Paul Green had to “tone down his mannerisms’’ speaking to players because old fashioned methods were too abrasive.

Bennett said last year the biggest change he had found in his 30-plus years of NRL coaching was that you could not give a player a spray the way you could in the past because their mother or manager would be on to the chief executive of your club by the time you had wiped the froth from the corner of your mouth. Bennett – reluctantly but shrewdly – changed his ways.

GREAT FINISH

The match between the Sharks and the Tigers may have been average but the build-up to the game, the sellout crowd and the Robbie Farah guessing games spotlighted the drama that makes rugby league so special.

The Sharks-Tigers game lived up to the hype. AAP Image/Craig Golding.

BOMBS AWAY

The Brisbane Bombers are not certain to win the right to be the city’s second rugby league team but you have to admire their resilience.

They have been striving for the rights since 2011 and put up with all sorts of empty promises and posturing from a dithering NRL. Their determination is admirable and their bid and general commitment to the cause deserves the deepest consideration.

ONE MORE TIME

The old fox has done it again.

Just when the Rabbitohs look cooked Wayne Bennett has them rising again for the finals. If they take the title it would be one of his finest moments.

OFF-SIDE

SILLY SAM

Boyd Cordner was too kind when he said Souths enforcer Sam Burgess did not deserved a one-match ban for pulling Billy Smith’s hair.

He deserves it for one of the silliest plays of the season. Burgess’ record is so poor he only has to sneeze to cop a week.

Occasionally you accept he will be rubbed out for the blood and thunder plays that are part of being an enforcer. But hair pulling a week from the finals? He’s kidding.

FEATHERS RUFFLED

The Roosters chances of defending their premiership may rest on whether enigmatic talent Latrell Mitchell can fully switch-on.

His form has ranged from earth-shattering to invisible this season and has flatlined during important games in recent weeks. He must lift a gear.

Mitchell has had a tough time of it. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images.

SALARY SACRIFICE

The Broncos have done well to navigate a course through the salary cap minefield but the challenges keep coming.

Peter Badel’s report in The Courier-Mail showed how desperately the club must move to upgrade the salaries of Kotoni Staggs ($180,000) and David Fifita ($250,000) and how overpaid Jack Bird ($900,000 next season) is.

How it all fits together remains a mystery but this much is clear – Staggs and Fifita are set to treble their wages while Bird is under mounting pressure to justify his pay packet.

STUBBORN SHARKS

Cronulla might not win this year’s premiership but they might be lucky enough to seal something more important … their future.

We keep hearing that the NRL are reluctant to even think about cutting the Sharks while Sharks tragic Scott Morrison is Prime Minister because they fear the consequences of a PM-led backlash.