‘Don’t argue with Flegler’: Fiery prop to lead Broncos
Joel Gould |
Thomas Flegler will captain Brisbane for the first time after he insisted that he did not want to be rested against the Melbourne Storm.
“Resting him might have been an option but you don’t argue with Fleg’,” said Broncos coach Kevin Walters, confirming Flegler did not want to sit out Thursday night’s NRL clash at Suncorp Stadium.
The ladder-leading Broncos are without 11 of their front-line players due to injury, suspension and a deliberate resting policy ahead of finals. The choice of Flegler as skipper, despite the fact he is joining the Dolphins next year, did not diminish his credentials to captain the side in the eyes of the coach.
“We focus on what’s happening right now. He has really good leadership qualities, he is in our leadership group and he is not frightened to call things out when he sees them,” Walters said.
“He is the ideal man tomorrow night and he asked to play. He had a big spell a few weeks ago, so he wants to play to get his minutes up and lead this team. He will do a great job.”
The 24-year-old did miss a month of action in July after suffering a Lisfranc injury to his foot.
Flegler has matured in the last 12 months and is now driving high standards at the club.
The Queensland prop has not won a finals match in his career and is keen to end the Storm’s unbeaten run at Suncorp Stadium against the Broncos that stretches back to 2009.
The Brisbane players and their coach can’t avoid questions on their woeful recent record against the Storm, who will also be without 11 of their best players.
“We are all aware of it here at the Broncos, the dominance that the Storm have had over the club, and it’s not just my era as a coach that they have been very dominant,” Walters said.
“The only way to fix that is to play well and we intend to do that tomorrow night
“This is a different Melbourne Storm outfit to others. We’re very respectful, but we want to turn the tables a bit and make sure we stop those wins.”
AAP
