Brisbane Broncos captain Darius Boyd has assured the club that his troublesome hamstring will see out another four years after re-signing with the club on Thursday.
The 30-year-old is set to end his career at the Broncos after agreeing to a four-year deal that will see him stay in Brisbane until the end of 2021.
The four-year agreement is somewhat of a risk by the club after Boyd revealed earlier in the year that he had been battling a hamstring injury since tearing his Achilles tendon in December of 2014.
Boyd himself has since described his left hamstring as "weak", with it something he believes has deteriorated due to "old age".
His concerns were realised late in the 2017 Telstra Premiership season when he missed two of Brisbane's finals matches due to a tear in his left hamstring that he is still recovering from.
With this in mind it would have been understandable if the Broncos had decided to only offer the Queensland and Australian representative a three-year contract, but those in charge at Brisbane have instead decided to take a chance and show full faith in one of the game's best fullbacks.
Boyd acknowledged his injury history when asked how his body would cope with another four years of NRL, saying his recent time off had made him feel young again.
"I'm definitely confident [my body can get through it]. It wasn't ideal this year with a few injuries but I've been training hard doing some good rehab over the past few weeks," Boyd said.
"The hamstring is coming along really well so I'm hoping I'll feel 18 years old again when it comes around to January because I've had a lot of time off.
"The rehab should help me over the next couple of years."
And in those next couple of years Boyd has one thing on his mind – premierships.
It is now 11 years since the Broncos have won a title – the longest drought in the club's history – and Boyd is desperate to be the captain that returns the club to premiership glory.
He believes with the signing of Jack Bird and the retention of players such as Anthony Milford and James Roberts – the club is on the right track.
"I think the club has done a great job with the roster. Obviously it's always hard to keep players and get players to the club," he said.
"We had a lot of players off contract this year so the club did a great job to retain most of them. We have Jack Bird coming as well so it's exciting times ahead.
"Premierships are what the Broncos have been great at over the years. We definitely want to get a couple more. It would be great to win those while I'm still here."
