Injury concerns Justin Hodges, Josh McGuire and David Stagg have all been cleared to tackle Parramatta on Saturday in an NRL clash that has Brisbane coach Anthony Griffin worried.
“They’re a very dangerous side,” said Griffin after his three in-doubt players got through a light session at Red Hill in Brisbane on Friday morning.
“They play well at home where they beat Cronulla and probably should have beaten the Cowboys last week.
“They’ve got plenty of strike across the park with Chris Sandow, Jarryd Hayne (Jacob) Loko and Reni Maitua and their forward pack has plenty of power and aggression.”
Having all three players passed fit adds 450 games of NRL experience to Griffin’s line-up.
Hodges, who has won two premierships and played 15 State of Origin clashes and 13 Tests, gives Brisbane a lift just by being on the field.
“We’ve won some big games without having Justin there but you obviously like having your best players on the field, it’s lovely having him out there,” said Griffin after his star centre missed last Friday’s loss to South Sydney with a groin injury.
“Whenever Hodgo is on the field it’s a bonus for us but we don’t all run and hide under the bed when he’s not there.”
Brisbane badly missed Hodges’ ability to put them on the attack with his forays out of dummy-half and his cool head during a disastrous 10-minute period after halftime when Souths piled on 18 unanswered points.
Workaholic Stagg, who hasn’t played for a month after undergoing a knee cleanout, was a member of Brisbane’s 2006 premiership side and has also played Origin for Queensland.
McGuire hasn’t played much football this season because of a calf strain in round two but his fire and aggression will be invaluable against the rhino-like charges of Eels forwards Tim Mannah and Fuifui Moimoi.
McGuire, who came back too early a few weeks ago, was knocking teammates over at training and putting some extra sting into a few collisions to make sure his suspect calf was up to scratch.
“McGuire trained really well this morning. He was probably the most doubtful of them all but he’s ready to go,” said Griffin.