The more things change, the more they stay the same for Brisbane Broncos veteran half Scott Prince.
Eleven years ago Prince helped forge the `Baby Broncos’ legend in an upset 28-14 NRL win over Wests Tigers in Sydney.
Now aged 33, Prince will be out to add another chapter to their underdog story after being reunited with the Brisbane No.7 jersey in a dramatically reshuffled line-up for Monday night’s Suncorp Stadium clash with New Zealand Warriors.
The loss of Queensland Origin stars Sam Thaiday, Corey Parker, Matt Gillett and Justin Hodges has prompted a drastic re-think from Broncos coach Anthony Griffin on Sunday.
Regular halfback Peter Wallace moves to hooker while Prince – back from a hamstring complaint – swaps the No.6 jersey for No.7 to join Ben Hunt in the halves.
Hooker Andrew McCullough slots into the backrow, Aaron Whitchurch and Jordan Kahu are now the wingers while Jack Reed is expected to return from an eye injury and slot into the centres.
The make-up of the interchange won’t be confirmed until Monday.
Plenty of young faces will surround Prince in the Broncos dressing room on Monday night but the veteran believed it would feel just like old times.
“I was part of the Baby Broncos and we took on the Wests Tigers and had a great win,” Prince told the Broncos website.
“This is about young guys fronting up and showing they can do a job.
“It brings a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of excitement and hopefully we can take it into the game.”
Griffin will hope so – Brisbane (5-6 record) have lost three of their last four games.
They take on a Warriors outfit (3-8) that bounced back from a record loss to Penrith to down the Knights 28-12 last round but are still dead last.
“They have a massive pack. The game will obviously depend on what happens in the middle,” Griffin said on Sunday.
“(But) we have always performed well when our Origin guys haven’t been here and that’s a good sign of character from our guys.”
Prince looked forward to running out again – especially against a Warriors side boasting hooker Nathan Friend, a Broncos teammate back in their now famous 2002 win.
“It is great to be back playing footy again,” he said.
“Unfortunately injuries are part of our game but certainly after two weeks I feel freshened up.”
Konrad Hurrell is in the centres for Carlos Tuimavave (neck) in the only change to the Warriors’ starting line-up.
Broncos backrower Alex Glenn takes over the Brisbane captaincy from Origin call-up Sam Thaiday, ensuring he lines up against his Kiwi skipper Simon Mannering.
“I have a lot of friends in that team (Warriors). They are usually the best games and at the end of it you get bragging rights,” Glenn laughed.
