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Lockyer open to No.1 jersey at Broncos

By Wayne Heming 03/12/2009 04:21:15 PM Comments (0)

Brisbane captain Darren Lockyer had declared he is open to the challenge of turning the clock back next season and playing fullback.

But there are serious concerns the physical demands on his 33 year-old battled-scarred body could prove too much.

Brisbane has to urgently find a replacement No.1 for Karmichael Hunt who'll embark on his own personal challenge playing AFL next year.

Hunt's role at fullback in organising Brisbane's defensive line and running his second man play will be difficult to replace and greatly missed.

Henjak may have been testing the waters this week when he speculated Lockyer, the world's best fullback before being switched to five-eighth by Wayne Bennett in 2005, could play some fullback next season.

He would have been pleased by his champion's response that he was prepared to do whatever was best for the team even though the Broncos captain may have just been "playing the game".

Removing Lockyer from the front line to lighten his defensive load from forwards targeting him would expose him to being smashed up while carrying the ball back from kicks and also add a lot of metres to his running game.

As Billy Slater and Jarryd Hayne have shown, fullback is a young man's game.

Recent knee surgery and advancing years have dulled Lockyer's lightning speed and sidestep that once dazzled defenders.

Dual international Mat Rogers, who swaps between fullback, centre and five-eighth for the Gold Coast, has no doubt Lockyer could handle playing fullback again.

"It wouldn't be hard for him, he's such a tremendous athlete," 33 year-old Rogers, a former Queensland Origin teammate of Lockyer's, told AAP.

"But I know after playing a few games there (fullback) last year when Zilly (William Zillman) was out, it's a little harder.

"I'd much prefer to be in the front line. It seems easier but it's not.

"They'll be kicking the ball to him every time, I can assure you.

"There's positives and negatives as there is playing in the front line.

"It wouldn't be a risk, D.Lockyer could play anywhere he wanted.

"He'll do what's best for the team, he's that sort of a bloke."

Lockyer indicated he would seriously consider the shift after talking with Henjak.

"At the end of the day I am going to do what is best for the team," Lockyer told Brisbane's Courier Mail on Thursday.

"It is not a position I am foreign to and since K (Hunt) left, it's been an idea that has crossed my mind as well.

"There is a part of me that doesn't mind the idea, and it is more than just a quirky appeal.

"It would mean I would have to work pretty hard on it and it would take me a while to adapt to it again.

"It's a different role. You have to do a lot more running at fullback, but your defensive load is less, so it's a different fitness you require.

"It would be a challenge and that was part of the appeal of originally going from No.1 to No.6."

Lockyer and Brisbane's other representative players will resume training early next month.

Brought to you by AAP AAP © 2024 AAP

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