Broncos feeling the hurt

For most teams, the weeks surrounding Origin are a hectic time. Representative commitments, injuries and fatigue often cause problems for teams and unfortunately the Broncos are no different.

With the naming of the Maroon squad coming today at some point, the Broncos can expect roughly 4 players to be out for Origin II:

Darren Lockyer
Corey Parker
Jharal Yow Yeh
Sam Thaiday

The word on the grapvine is that Hodgo isn't coming along as well as planned and is not likely to be risked by QLD. Looking at the above list, that's a bit of hurt right there for the Broncos. What hasn't been mentioned much is our injury toll, which is as follows:

Justin Hodges - Hamstring (indefinite - likely to be 2-3 weeks however)
Shane Tronc - Neck (indefinite - possible surgery)
Matt Gillett - Foot (round 15)
Josh McGuire - Eye (estimated round 19)
Ben Hunt - Finger (indefinite)
Ben Te'o - Arm (round 18)
Nick Kenny - Shoulder (facing fitness tests however has been named)

When we lost 3 on the trot, I didn't give it much thought and having been unable to watch the games, it didn't dawn on me that we had so many players out. What hurts the most for me is Gillett and Hodgo - Hodges is invaluable to any side and Gillett is a rising star with limitless potential and the longer he is out, the longer it will take for him to get back into the groove.

Given our forwards depth, I never thought we'd be in a position where we are lacking solid forwards. The shining light out of this situation is Kurt Baptiste. I know a few people that have had wraps on Kurt for a long time in the QLD Cup and his performance last week was solid indeed.

While Origin is my favourite time of the year in terms of sport, it does cripple my beloved Broncos for a few weeks. If QLD win Game 2, I'll let that slide this year ;).