Boosted by glimpses of “some mongrel” in last week’s NRL loss, Brisbane captain Alex Glenn has demanded more of it to send Darius Boyd off a winner.
The Broncos will claim an unwanted first NRL wooden spoon if they lose to North Queensland this week, when former captain Darius Boyd plays his 336th and final game.
Even a win may not be enough to avoid the dreaded milestone after Canterbury moved level on points and above on percentage with their win in round 19 .
But, on the back of 10 straight losses, the proud Glenn wants to leave Suncorp Stadium with his head high on Thursday night.
“Hell no, no way man,” he said of the prospect of a loss to the Cowboys.
“Our club’s never been in this position before; it’s a pretty low point, we’re not happy about it.
“For the players coming through I’ve just told them to watch Darius and learn from him, because he’s ticked every box.
“To send him off on a win is our highest priority.”
Brisbane have been regularly exposed when conceding soft tries in a season of historic lows, but showed some starch against Parramatta in a 26-12 defeat on Friday.
“There was some mongrel in us, which hasn’t been there for a while,” Glenn said.
“We want to lift off that.”
Payne Haas is due to return to face the Cowboys after exiting the biosecurity bubble on compassionate grounds.
Emerging back-rower Jordan Riki is back from suspension and will start for the injured David Fifita, in an early passing of the baton before the latter departs for Gold Coast next season.
The Broncos are yet to name a new coach or CEO for 2021.
But Glenn said once they had walked off the field on Thursday night it was up to the players themselves to begin the recovery effort.
“It’s about self reflection; I’ll grabbing the boys, telling them to have think about what they did and didn’t do good,” he said.
“If you don’t self reflect there’s no point blaming others.
“I’ll be writing them down and when you come into pre-season it’s getting that out and building from where you ended the season.”