Retiring Broncos skipper Alex Glenn says he’s proud of what the future holds for the club, declaring Brisbane are in possession of some of the competition’s most exciting young talent.
Glenn, 33, last month hung up the boots after 285 NRL games for the Broncos, in which he became the club’s fourth most-capped player of all time, behind only Darren Lockyer (355), Corey Parker (347) and Sam Thaiday (304).
While the seasons didn’t go as planned for Glenn and the Broncos, who missed out on finals football for the second-straight year, the retiring captain says the club will have plenty of momentum to build on going into next season.
After winning only two games from their opening 10 matches, the Broncos found some consistency in the back half of the season and bowed out having won two from their last three.
“It came down to our attitude, the boys’ attitude just switched,” he told Wide World of Sports.
“The boys at the start of the season, we were losing games by big margins and when teams got one or two tries ahead, we tended to go in our shell and shy away from the challenge.
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“The last seven weeks of the season, the boys ramped it up and really started understanding what first grade was like – it’s not always going to go your way on the footy field.
“But the mentality switched and when we were down on the scoreboard, we knew we had to fight hard to get out of it. That was the biggest part, our mentality.
“[The turnaround] came from grit and determination to keep working hard for each other. That was the most positive thing. I was proud of how we finished.”
The 2021 season saw Broncos coach Kevin Walters blood a host of young stars.
While the likes of Xavier Coates and Reece Walsh have departed the club for rivals, Glenn is confident the remaining crop of players coming through have plenty to offer.
Glenn is touting Broncos’ rookie of the year Kobe Hetherington as a future Maroon, while the likes of teen stars’ Selwyn Cobbo and TC Robati remind the ex-skipper of Greg Inglis and superstar back-rower David Fifiita respectively.
Hetherington became a Broncos regular after Round 11, featuring on 14 occasions, while 19-year-old outside back Cobbo played seven games and Robati, 19, played 10.
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“Selwyn Cobbo, coming through he only had a handful of games for us, but his footy head and the way he plays, it reminds me of a young Greg Inglis,” Glenn said.
“He’s got that same build, very tall, very fast, very powerful. This was his first year.
“This summer will be his first pre-season with the team and we’re going to see him grow. The next couple of years will be exciting for him.
“TC Robati, who’s playing in the second-row, he filled in for a couple of games when I was out… he’s another player that’s got a lot of strength and lot of power going into the game.
“He reminds me of David Fifita, just a little bit smaller. I can see him going far in the game.
“He’s got that versatility to either play in the middle as a lock or prop, but also go into the second-row as well.
“Kobe Hetherington, he played a handful of games and got our Rookie of the Year. I can see him having a big future and possible Origin as well.”
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Queensland’s Alex Glenn and Jordan Kahu took on NSW’s Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and Josh Dugan in a State vs State battle in Verdansk, and they clinched the win.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CRip-1Lg7a7/
“It was unreal,” Glenn said of the experience.
“We go toe-to-toe on the football field, but to go into battle was unreal. Obviously, there is a lot of competitiveness between us all and we always talk it up about who’s the better Call of Duty player, it was good to go head-to-head against the New South Wales boys.
“We (Queensland) came out victorious, so it was bittersweet for us. The experience for us was unreal and I hope there’s more in the future
“Massive sledging [goes on between us], it’s in our DNA. There’s always banter on the footy field… there’s a lot of sledging and it’s still going today. Even when we bump into each other we talk about it.”
Speaking on Vanguard, Glenn said: “Beta was an unreal insight into the game and I’m definitely pumped about Vanguard. A lot of features in the game that I really enjoyed – You can upgrade your gun on the go while you’re in the game… I really like that part, it gives everyone the chance to level up your guns.”
Call of Duty: Vanguard launches on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S or PC on 5th November AEDT/NZDT and is available for pre-order now.