Brisbane old boys praise young tyro Tom Flegler after punishing Queensland derby debut

The Broncos old boys network is trying to keep a rein on their expectations for exciting rookie prop Thomas Flegler after a rousing maiden Queensland derby for the 19-year old.

Thomas Flegler of the Broncos (left) is seen during the Round 2 NRL match between the Brisbane Broncos and the North Queensland Cowboys at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Friday, March 22, 2019. (AAP Image/Dan Peled) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

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The Broncos old boys network is trying to keep a rein on their expectations for exciting rookie prop Thomas Flegler after a rousing maiden Queensland derby.

Shane Webcke has called for expectations to be kept in check for the 19-year-old Flegler, who had more carries than any other Bronco in a 28-10 win over North Queensland last Friday despite coming off the bench.

The athletic Flegler covered 172m from his 15 runs in only his second NRL match, leading former Brisbane and Australian forward Mark Hohn to say he is “as good as anyone I’ve seen as that age’’.

“I’m looking forward to seeing more of him – I’ve heard some good things,’’ Webcke said.

“Training wise, I’m told he’s very good and training is a big part of being a professional footballer.

Flegler was excellent off the bench. AAP Image/Dan Peled.

“But it’s so hard for these young blokes. They live under a great deal of expectation. They can have six or seven cracking games and it all catches up with them a bit. It will take a while.’’

Flegler was vastly impressive with some jolting defence in his debut against Melbourne in round 1.

“It’s hard to know how good he is going to be, but there is plenty of aggression – you can’t train that into anyone,’’ Hohn said.

“He is as good as anyone I’ve seen as that age

“He’s an old school forward in some regards.

“He puts his body on the line and he’s been consistent through the trials and the first two premiership matches. So it seems he is mentally strong.

“From what I’ve seen on Anthony Seibold, he has these blokes dialled in to what he wants from them.’’

Teenagers Flegler, David Fifita and Payne Haas will be performing miracles as young props if they can be consistently good through the second half of the season, but will give depth to the Broncos pack rotation.

Flegler made a mark with his physicality. AAP Image/Dan Peled.

“He (Flegler) was outstanding, to push through that many minutes in his second NRL game, and I’m very excited for him,’’ veteran teammate Shaun Fensom said.

“At training you can see it in him. He’s very athletics for a big man.’’

As traits start to emerge from Seibold’s Broncos, former Test fullback Billy Slater said the kick pressure exerted on Michael Morgan in the derby win was already one obvious facet.

“It was in effect from round 1. He is doing a fantastic job to put this in place on their team,’’ Slater said on Channel 9.

“A lot of time they take the player to the ground too, which means one (fewer) in the defensive line.

“They were outstanding in the first half and had a point to prove. They kick chased hard and tackled hard and outmuscled the Cowboys.’’

Slater said there were also mature performances from halves Kodi Nikorima and Anthony Milford.

“Their kicking game was great and they used the football well,’’ he said.