NRL 2021: Tom Dearden commits future to Brisbane Broncos
His halfback spot is under threat but off-contract young gun Tom Dearden has broken his silence on his future. BRONCOS TRAINING NEWS
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Broncos young gun Tom Dearden has pledged his future to Brisbane after bolting back into favouritism to secure the No.7 jersey for next week’s NRL season opener.
The off-contract Dearden has declared he wants to remain at the Broncos beyond this year despite being linked with a move to North Queensland.
Speculation intensified that Dearden would look to leave Red Hill after scrumbase rival Brodie Croft trained at halfback earlier this week in the lead-up to next Friday’s Round 1 showdown with Parramatta at Suncorp Stadium.
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The intrigue continued on Thursday as Dearden spent the entire session alongside five-eighth Anthony Milford while Croft trained with the reserves.
Coach Kevin Walters has declared Dearden and Croft are “neck and neck” for the No. 7 duties, however the former appears to be ahead just a week out from the season kicking off.
Dearden, 20 next week, toured the Cowboys’ set up last month, with North Queensland bringing in NRL legend Johnathan Thurston to try and convince the blond-haired playmaker to continue his career in Townsville.
However Dearden has put nervous Broncos fans at ease, declaring his intention is to remain in Brisbane for the foreseeable future.
“I want to stay at the Broncos,” he said.
“I love the club and this is where I want to be. I have the whole year here now before I’m off-contract so I’m looking forward to the season ahead.
“There’s competition for spots, I know that, so my focus is on keeping that number seven jumper and we’ll see how things go.”
Dearden was thought to be Walters’ first-choice halfback, but a late fadeout in Brisbane’s trial loss to North Queensland last weekend brought Croft into the mix.
Croft had a torrid debut season at the Broncos last year, performing poorly and being dropped by former coach Anthony Seibold as Brisbane went on to collect the wooden spoon.
The Dearden-Milford alliance appears to have the most upside for the Broncos and Dearden said he has plenty of improvement left in him, having only played 17 NRL games.
“It was a trial game so that’s what those games are for, to get things sorted and put some plans in place,” he said.
“It didn’t go to plan for us in the second half but I felt we showed some promising signs to build on going into round one.
“We can’t slip away again in the second half when the premiership starts.”
Towering back-rower Jordan Riki sent a scare through Red Hill on Thursday following an accidental collision with teammate Matt Lodge during a high-intensity session.
Riki later reported he had suffered a burner when his shoulder collided with Lodge’s knee and he was in no doubt for the Eels blockbuster.
Key forwards Alex Glenn and Pat Carrigan did not train as they attended the NRL season launch in Sydney.
With NSW Origin prop Payne Haas suspended for the opening three rounds, Tom Flegler will take on a more crucial role in the middle of the field.
Flegler, 21, only managed 13 games last year before undergoing a shoulder reconstruction which ended his season after Round14.
He played 25 minutes in his return against the Cowboys last weekend before suffering a “scare” and admitted the mental scars of surgery are still there.
“I’m now six months post-op,” Flegler said.
“I had a little scare on the weekend and didn’t want to risk it in a trial so I came off.
“I was a bit nervous about it but there’s nothing wrong. I’m fit to play round one, there’s no dramas there.
“I was always going to be a bit nervous in the first few games, but once I get my confidence back after a few games I’m sure I’ll be right.
“You can’t hide. The best thing to do is rip in straight away.”
Originally published as NRL 2021: Tom Dearden commits future to Brisbane Broncos
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