Denan Kemp would still be pouring beers at a Wollongong nightclub had Brisbane not invested in a phone call to the speedy winger last month.
With representative winger Jharal Yow Yeh struggling to get back from last season’s horrific ankle injury and youngster Dale Copley suffering a suspected ruptured patella tendon in Saturday night’s 16-14 trial loss to the Gold Coast at Redcliffe, Kemp’s second homecoming could be a godsend for coach Anthony Griffin.
The 25-year-old scored 20 tries in 28 games for Brisbane in 2008, including a record-equalling four in one game.
He headed across the Tasman for a failed season the Warriors in 2009, made a brief return to the Broncos, embarked on an unsuccessful stint in rugby union before signing for St George Illawarra for whom he didn’t play a single NRL game in 2012.
He is now on a low-budget one-year deal in his third stint with the Broncos.
“It’s a small contract,” said Kemp, keen to repay Brisbane’s faith in giving him another chance to play in the NRL.
Despite a limited three-week preparation, the 25-year-old crossed for a smart second-half try and had another disallowed in a return which strongly suggested his days behind the bar are over.
“I was at the Dragons but a few things off the field didn’t go too well so I pretty much quit footy about four months ago,” revealed Kemp, now firmly in the mix for Brisbane’s NRL season-opener next month against Manly.
“I was just pulling beers and working behind a bar at a nightclub and a pub until I got a call from the Broncos two or three weeks ago asking if I’d like to come home.
“It’s pretty clear I love the club because I keep coming back … I seem to play my best football here.
“To be honest, if any other club had called I would have said `no sorry.”
Once the fastest man at Red Hill over 40 metres, Kemp said if he put his head down and went as hard as he could he believed he could get back to his best form.
“Surprisingly it’s come back pretty quickly. I felt pretty quick out there tonight,” he said of his NRL audition.
“Obviously that extra one per cent isn’t there yet, but I felt quick, I felt pretty good on my feet and I thought I played pretty well.”
Kemp and the Broncos playing squad flew out of Brisbane on Sunday morning for Queenstown in New Zealand to prepare for the club’s last pre-season trial against the Warriors in Dunedin.
Skipper Sam Thaiday and centres Justin Hodges and Jack Reed, who all sat out the Redcliffe trial, will play on Saturday.