Refreshed and ready to go following a quick dash home across the ditch, Jordan Riki says the Broncos are committed to staying “humble and hungry” in the chase for the club's first silverware since 2006.
Riki made his NRL debut in 2020 and experienced two challenging seasons to start his career, narrowly avoiding the wooden spoon, said there was a noticeable change being felt around the club as the team looks to capitalise on its strong start to 2023.
Brisbane enter Round 17 on top of the Telstra Premiership ladder, determined not to produce a repeat of their late season fadeout last year.
"I'm really proud of the boys and Kevvy as well," Riki said after his side's last-start win over the Knights prior to the bye in Round 16.
"We keep going back to a big saying in our club which is about staying humble and hungry. We've been going really well lately but we've got to stay hungry and humble and hopefully we can get that trophy at the end of the year."
Brisbane are expecting their full Origin contingent to feature in Sunday's derby against the Titans – a huge boost for the Broncos with the likes of Patrick Carrigan, Payne Haas and Thomas Flegler all performing well on Wednesday night.
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The clash against their local rivals is immediately followed by a clash against Wayne Bennett's Dolphins, marking a pivotal two-week run for the Brisbane club between the second and third State of Origin matches.
“I always look forward to these games," Riki said.
"The derbies are always strong and competitive games, especially with the new addition of the Dolphins as well, we have got two weeks of local derbies back-to-back. We're really excited.
"At the end of the day, I truly believe we have got a strong team and a lot of depth in this team to get the job done... whether those boys back up or not."
The Broncos have already shown this year that they can win with some of their biggest names, scoring a win against the Warriors in an Origin-affected Round 13.
“I think it just really shows the amount of depth that we have in our club, the younger boys coming through," he said. “We're all so young, I'm only 23, Patty and Payne … they're only 24 as well, both of them.
“We're just such a young team and we've got such a long way to go. Our main goal is to keep everyone together and tight and then we gel."
The rise of Riki
Of particular focus for Riki this year has been the improvement in his kick pressure, working in unison to the composed kicking game of veteran Adam Reynolds, with the forward's next challenge to add an aerial threat to his game.
“I've been getting a bit of heat for that for the last couple of rounds, just from the boys, like 'come on Jordan, you're tall, get up there and have a crack’ and that’s something I'm working on at training,” Riki said with a laugh.
There's some times where I feel like it's necessary to just hit them as hard as I can.
Broncos forward Jordan Riki
"Then we can hold them in their own 40 – making it hard for them to get out of their own 40 and get an easy kick away for us.
“I definitely need to add that [jumping] to my game and I'm still working on that at training and who knows, maybe the game after the bye, I could pull one out.
“I'm just happy with the way I've been going.
“I know I've got a lot of improvement and other things to go on and work on, but for now, I'm just going to keep my head down and keep working hard.”
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