Nrl Games For 2005
Dec0
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.
Source: ABC News
Manly captain and half-back Matt Orford is leaving the club after signing with Bradford Bulls in the English Super League.
The 2008 Dally M winner joins fellow premiership-winning team-mates Steve Menzies, Glenn Hall and Heath L'Estrange at the Bulls.
"I always wanted to finish my career in England," Orford said in a statement.
"This opportunity came earlier than expected, but the chance to play with good friends at a club which is on the rise accelerated my decision."
Orford was on the verge of re-signing with the Sea Eagles before the late offer from Bradford came in.
"There is nothing sinister in the switch. I could have remained with Manly for two more years but decided the time is right now," he said.
"My manager came up with the deal, I thought about it and made the best decision for my immediate future."
Orford began in first grade with the Northern Eagles in 2000 before switching to Melbourne, where he played between 2001 and 2005.
Orford clocked up 229 games in the NRL, including 98 for Manly, scoring 1,502 points.
He led the Sea Eagles to the 2008 NRL premiership with a 40-0 demolition of the Storm in the decider.
"His consistency, his leadership, his toughness and his football brain made him an integral part of our football club over the past four years," coach Des Hasler said of Orford.
Hasler said Kiwi rookie Kieran Foran and Queensland Cup player of the year Trent Hodkinson would likely vie to replace him in the number seven jumper.