Billy Walters knows he has a fight on his hands to secure a starting spot at the Broncos but he’s hoping a full pre-season training in the hooking position will stand him in good stead to earn the No.9 jersey.
Walters played 23 games last season in the halves, off the bench and at hooker, but now is locked in a four-way tussle with Cory Paix, young gun Blake Mozer and 2022 Hostplus Cup hooker of the year Tyson Smoothy all vying for the dummy half role.
“We got Tyson Smoothy as well who's come on board this year, he's played for the Storm and they don't give out their jerseys very easily, so it shows that he can bring something to the team as well,” Walters said.
“It's always good to have competition for the number 9 jersey and we all know no one has got their hands on that yet.
“That's up for anyone to work hard, train hard, and play well in the trials; and even if you do get it Round 1, it's not a guaranteed thing.
“I know I'll be definitely trying my hardest to get it, and I know I've got a lot of people trying to get the same position, so I just to make sure I work hard and train hard and play well.
"I'm working my combinations with the forwards; I didn't get to do a pre-season with them last year, I did the whole pre-season in the halves, so I suppose that's a big asset this year I get to work on the combinations with them and hopefully learn how they love to play and they can learn how I like to play and we can be another threat around the ruck."
The hooking role is not the only position with players pressing their case for selection, with Walters saying it was a competitive environment all-round at the club, which boded well for the future.
Although new signing Reece Walsh was hoping to slot straight into the fullback role, he has rising star Selwyn Cobbo to contend with, while another fresh face in Jock Madden would be pushing Broncos 2022 rookie of the year Ezra Mam to partner skipper Adam Reynolds in the halves.
“We have got a lot of people fighting for positions, so it's better that we've got a lot of the crew back already and can start working on the combinations and getting the competitiveness going for who's going to be there round one,” Walters said of having most of the squad back at training already.
“It's a real big chance to build our combinations.
"I feel like we have a lot of room to improve on our spine. We didn't really lock down the spine last year and I think everyone else around Reyno [Adam Reynolds] needs to support him a lot better this year, so there's a there's a lot of things we can work on, and hopefully get the combinations right and be firing for the first game."