Battling Brisbane receive some much-needed attacking flair, welcoming back centre Justin Hodges from injury for the Broncos Good Friday NRL clash with Melbourne at Suncorp Stadium.

Brisbane needed all the good news they could get after being held scoreless in last round’s loss to Sydney Roosters and slumping to a 1-2 season start with a tough draw ahead of the State of Origin representative period.

As they sweat on new halves pairing Peter Wallace and Scott Prince gelling, Brisbane are expected to enter a bidding war with the St George Illawarra for sacked Canberra strike weapon Josh Dugan after confirmation Broncos young gun Corey Norman was Parramatta-bound in 2014.

But Brisbane will hope Hodges can spark something against heavyweights Melbourne on Friday night after returning from a hamstring complaint and reuniting with Jack Reed in the centres.

Hodges’ return shifts David Stagg back to the bench.

Utility forward Dunamis Lui retains his interchange spot after forward Mitchell Dodds (foot) was ruled out, while Nick Slyney is 18th man.