Aggressive young Brisbane prop Josh McGuire has beaten Queensland State Origin forward Ben Hannant to a starting spot for arguably the toughest defensive test of the season against the Warriors at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.
McGuire has been rewarded for a string of man-of-the-match performances in the absence of the NRL club’s Origin stars, including front-rowers Ben Hannant and Petero Civoniceva, with his promotion to starting prop in a full-strength Broncos pack.
“Josh has been been playing some great footy and I think he’s been our best forward for the past month,” said Brisbane skipper Sam Thaiday.
“He’s got his aggression under control and that’s what you want from a front-rower.
“You want that toughness.
“Josh is taking the ball up hard, he’s playing long minutes and making lots of tackles.
“You couldn’t ask any more of him.”
Being selected ahead of a player with Hannant’s impressive representative resume is a huge endorsement from coach Anthony Griffin.
McGuire made the Kangaroos train-on squad last year off the back of some eye-catching performances after returning from a career-threatening eye injury and he is playing with the kind of aggression that brought him to the attention of Queensland selectors.
Some judges are tipping that the stocky 22-year-old will play for Queensland and Australia if he continues his development.
McGuire is learning the importance of controlling a short fuse and channelling that aggression into metres on the field.
A big game against a Warriors pack, rated one of the most physical in the NRL, would make him hard to budge heading into the finals.
“They (the Warriors) bashed us around a bit earlier in the year. If we’re not on our game on Friday night, they’ll do it again,” said Thaiday.
Hannant started in the front-row with Civoniceva in that loss with McGuire contributing 86 metres and 32 tackles.
After a lot of consideration, Griffin has settled on back-rower Alex Glenn as the man to fill in for injured England international Jack Reed who is recovering from a broken leg.
Even with Glenn shifting to left centre, Brisbane’s back-row is still fearsome with Queensland utility Matt Gillett coming into the pack.
In other NRL team news, North Queensland coach Neil Henry welcomes back Origin stars Matthew Scott, Johnathan Thurston, Brent Tate and prop James Tamou for the clash with ladder leaders Melbourne after the quartet missed last weekend’s loss to the Warriors in Auckland.
Former South Sydney hooker Beau Falloon has been named for a possible debut appearance for Gold Coast who have also named forwards Luke Bailey and Nate Myles on an extended 19-man bench to play the Raiders – subject to fitness tests.
