Brisbane Broncos coach Wayne Bennett has sensationally compared Darius Boyd's recent form to that of when legendary Bronco Darren Lockyer played at the back.
It's a huge compliment for Boyd, with Lockyer spending seven years as Brisbane fullback and being highly regarded as the greatest fullback the club has ever produced.
Boyd is in scintillating form, scoring his first hat-trick since 2008 in a man of the match performance that helped the Broncos defeat the Canberra Raiders 26-18 at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday night.
It's been a stellar season for Boyd after being named at fullback for both Australia and Queensland, and the 28-year-old's form at club level has been outstanding.
Bennett says Boyd is fast approaching the form that saw him named the 2010 Rugby League International Federation Fullback of the Year.
"Darius does a great job and being picked at fullback for Origin and for his country has probably made his career because he hadn't played in that position in those arenas," Bennett said.
"Darius has always been searching for excellence.
"In the 2010 year at the Dragons he was in the Darren Lockyer mould at fullback and he's approaching that again.
"He's had good periods since then but not as good as he was in 2010.
"I remember in that season I was giving him really high ratings because he was playing that well.
"He has his confidence back and he's over his Achilles injury."
Boyd ruptured his Achilles tendon in pre-season training late in 2014 - just over a month since re-joining the Broncos from the Knights.
It was a horrible start to his new campaign as a Bronco but he has since fought back to have one of the best seasons of his career.
Boyd now has six tries and six try assists for 2016 and his combinations with Broncos halves Anthony Milford and Ben Hunt appears to be strengthening each week.
It has been a tough few years for Boyd off the field, but he says he is now happy with his football and appreciating life.
"I was really enjoying my life back then and I'm really enjoying my footy on and off the field at the moment. That's all you can do. I'm just glad I'm enjoying myself," Boyd said.
"I'm a lot more confident in my Achilles. It took me a while to get going with the injury.
"Obviously coming back to the Broncos it took time for me to find my feet.
"Coming to a new club and playing with new players can take a while to get used to.
"The last three weeks haven't been the best for us but it was good to get a win against Canberra."
The win against the Raiders was Brisbane's first in almost a month of football after losing three games in a row.
However, it wasn't all good news for the Broncos with both Jordan Kahu and Alex Glenn suffering injuries that may sideline the New Zealand internationals for up to a month.
"Worst case scenario they'll probably miss a couple of weeks to a month," Bennett said.
"It's not too bad because we have byes coming up.
"Kahu's injury is not his pectoral but rather a ligament around that area."
