Don’t expect Darius Boyd to pass on any last minute tips to his injury replacement Kodi Nikorima ahead of Brisbane’s knockout NRL semi-final against Penrith on Friday night.
Broncos skipper Boyd reckons the pint sized playmaker won’t need them.
The diminutive Nikorima is expected to be targeted by a Nathan Cleary-led Panthers attack after again replacing Boyd at fullback for the Suncorp Stadium clash.
Brisbane received a major blow before the sudden death clash, when Boyd failed to overcome a hamstring injury that had already forced him out of last week’s qualifying loss to the Sydney Roosters.
But after making the tough call to pull out of Friday night’s game, Boyd backed Nikorima to stand tall agianst the Panthers.
“I don’t plan on pulling him aside for any one-on-one tuition,” Boyd said in his Fox Sports online column.
“If I can see something during the game that I think I can help with, of course I’ll be happy to speak to him at half-time.
“But we regularly have meetings with the spine players — there’s six or seven in the squad — so Kodi knows exactly what his job is at fullback.
“I’ll let Kodi do his own thing. He knows he has the ability to be one of the best players on the field.”
Boyd looked set to return against the Panthers when he completed almost the entire session on Thursday at Suncorp Stadium, only to tell coach Wayne Bennett he was no chance of playing 24 hours later.
“I never wanted to put my hand up to play if I didn’t think I could give 100 per cent and in the end, I had to do what I thought was best for the team,” Boyd said.
“During Thursday’s training session, my hamstring was still playing on my mind a bit and that’s not what you want when you’re in the middle of a do-or-die NRL clash.
“I also pulled up a bit sore after the session, so the decision was made for me.”