Broncos coach Kevin Walters is standing by his bold declaration that his side will play finals and has received a boost in the lead-up to the do-or-die match against the Dolphins, with forward Payne Haas set to start.
Sidelined since Round 22 with a lisfranc injury, Haas trained strongly at the team’s captain's run, with Walters confirming his powerhouse prop would be back to lead the pack against their crosstown rivals at Suncorp Stadium.
“Payne's fine, he got through training really well this morning,” Walters said.
“He's a real pro, to get himself back in that short period and to be fit and ready to go, it really does show the class and the professionalism of Payne.
“He’s playing, you don't bring Payne Haas off the bench.
“It's good for all of the fans and supporters as well to see him back in the side, he's a world class prop and he'll bring that tomorrow night to us which gives everyone a lot of confidence.”
However, the team are likely to be without try-scoring back Deine Mariner who has been battling all week with the flu, with Josiah Karapani in line to start.
One of the biggest club games of the year, Walters was embracing the sense of occasion leading into Saturday's sold out showdown.
“It really does bring a lot of hype to the game, it’s great for our players, it's great for both teams and the players to be involved in such a game like tomorrow night,” Walters said.
“If you're a rugby league player, you don't want to be anywhere else but Suncorp Stadium tomorrow afternoon.
“(The rivalry is) just a natural progression for both clubs, being how close we are and being Queenslanders as well, there's a lot of passionate Queenslanders that follow rugby league, so it's great."
The match is also set to add an extra layer to the young but fierce rivalry, with the winner effectively ending the finals hopes of their opposition. Walters remained confident his side would come out on top, despite knowing his former mentor Wayne Bennett would have his own side primed for the clash.
“We will be playing finals," Walters said. “I've got a great belief in the group here, have got a really strong belief and you'll see that tomorrow night when the players play.
“There's been good examples of it in the last month, different periods in games.
“We have got to play the full 80 tomorrow night. We played for 60 minutes against the Cowboys and 70 minutes against Parramatta.
“So if we play 80 minutes and then you'll see what this team can do.
“There's a lot of good coaches in the league, Wayne's one of them ... (but) it's more about the players, we've got to get our players are playing well and that's both of our jobs as coaches and I'm really confident with this group here.
“I've been saying it all year that we got a footy team here and we'll see that tomorrow.”
Match: Dolphins v Broncos
Round 26 -
home Team
Dolphins
8th Position
away Team
Broncos
12th Position
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
