Dream NRL debut on cards for unknown 27-year-old

An untried 27-year-old half whose ‘lifelong goal’ is to pull on a Broncos jersey looms as Brisbane’s best hooking option after fill-in rake Josh McGuire suffered an ankle injury in Thursday’s gritty NRL win over South Sydney.

Already down Andrew McCullough, who is out with an elbow injury, Wayne Bennett has a crisis on his hands.

McGuire left ANZ Stadium in a moonboot and will undergo scans upon his return in Brisbane.

Bennett has already categorically ruled out using Sam Thaiday at dummy-half following his poor showing as starting hooker in the season opener against St George Illawarra.

The 24-year-old Kodi Nikorima is “an option” for Bennett after he slotted in there at stages against the Rabbitohs.

But he has never started at hooker and asking the 83kg utility to play 80 minutes in the middle of the field is a big ask.

And so with six days till next Thursday’s clash with the Bulldogs, Todd Murphy appears to be the frontrunner in desperate circumstances.

A half by trade, the 27-year-old trained at No.9 throughout the pre-season after part-time rakes Ben Hunt and Benji Marshall left the Broncos at the end of last year.

Murphy, who grew up on the Sunshine Coast, played for Brisbane in the early years of the under-20s competition but has since spent most of his career in the Queensland Cup.

“It’s a lifelong goal to wear that (Broncos) jersey,” Murphy told the club’s website in January.

A year with Cronulla in 2015 failed to yield an NRL debut and, after returning to the Broncos, injury kept him out for most of 2017.

But Bennett kept him around and might just break the glass in case of emergency.

“You sort of get a feel for hooker playing at half, but obviously the defensive workload is a lot more,” Murphy said in pre-season.

“But playing half you understand what the role is, so I am just trying to learn as much as I can.

“If anything the defensive reads are easier in the middle as guys are running straight – at half you sort of have to double defend.

“It’s not something I’m worried about. It’s just a matter of getting the fitness up and see how you go.”

with AAP