NRL: Lockyer's final run reveals promising omens

Darren Lockyer heads into his final playoffs run before retirement. Photo / Getty Images

If history is to repeat itself next month for Brisbane, they'll lose Saturday's qualifying final to the Warriors only to bounce back to again upset minor premiers Melbourne in the grand final in Sydney.

The similarities between Darren Lockyer's 2006 Broncos and his youthful 2011 side are hard to ignore.

Both sides finished the season in third place and both time Melbourne were the minor premiers.

And just like Wayne Bennett's 2006 Broncos who hit the finals with some impressive late form, rookie Anthony Griffin's troops have barnstormed their way into September with six straight wins.

More similarities.

Bennett's Broncos were motivated to give club great Shane Webcke a fairytale farewells.

Five years later it's icon Darren Lockyer who's providing the motivation and a tsunami of emotion.

A fifth grand final in his last game for Brisbane would be the dream end to Lockyer's record-breaking 350-game career with the Broncos after bowing out of State of Origin on a huge high in July.

In 2006 Brisbane dropped the first game of its finals campaign to the Dragons 20-4 at Suncorp Stadium.

They thrashed Newcastle 50-6 in their semi-final a week later at Aussie Stadium before powering back from a seemingly hopeless 20-6 halftime deficit to win their preliminary final 37-20 against the Bulldogs.

As underdogs, they then went into the grand final against Melbourne 15-7.

After missing the finals last year for the first time in 19 seasons, Brisbane have been trying desperately to avoid comparisons with 2006.

But there's a similar youthfulness to Griffin's squad not unlike the one which won in 2006 and which included youngsters Darius Boyd (19), Brent Tate (24), Karmichael Hunt (19), Sam Thaiday (21) and Corey Parker (24).

This year's Bronco side features a host of young guns who've come through the club's talent identification and development system.

Gerard Beale (21) Dale Copley (20) Jack Reed (23), Jharal Yow Yeh (21), Andrew McCullough (22), Josh McGuire (21), Alex Glenn (23) Matt Gillett (23), Ben Hunt (21) and David Hala (22) will no doubt produce a number of representative stars.

Yow Yeh has already played for Queensland and Australia while Beale was part of New Zealand's Test squad earlier this year.

Webcke, who got his fairytale ending with the 2006 side, believes the 2011 version is blessed with more depth and potential than the one which sent him and Thorn out winners.

"I don't think we had as youthful a side as Anthony Griffin has," the four-time premiership winning Webcke told AAP.

Both Thaiday and Hunt had played Origin and made their debuts for Australia that year, while Tate was already an established member of both sides by 2006.

"I don't remember thinking in 2006 'this is a particularly young side or particularly inexperienced' but this year they've got an extremely young Broncos side," said Webcke.

"It's a different blend of youth, those guys in 2006 like Hunt, Tate and Thaiday were young, but they had experience.

"If I was in that side today I might be wondering if, with so many young guys, whether the wheels might fall off a bit.

"It's a testament to the club, to Hook (Griffin) and Lockyer that that doesn't appear to be happening."

Webcke agreed there was a lot of 2006 about about this year's side.

"In 2006 Melbourne were such a dominant side," he said.

"We hadn't beaten them that year (until the grand final) and I remember thinking what a monumental feat it was going to be to beat them."

The warhorse prop, who for 254 games was the Bronco's rock, said Brisbane's performance to finish third given the circumstances in which the club entered 2011 was outstanding.

"Consider where this side has come from," he said.

"The turmoil that engulfed the club early in the season (Brisbane axed head coach Ivan Henjak three weeks before round one).

"Greg Inglis's backflip; the constant speculation about Hook's credentials to coach the club on such short notice, it was hardly ideal.

"Internally everyone knew he (Griffin) was a great coach, but to others he was untried in the rough and tough grind of the NRL as a senior coach."

Webcke, who played in Brisbane 2000 premiership finals with a broken arm, said Griffin had been pitched into the job at the last minute with a very young playing group which little first grade experience.

"It has been a remarkable performance, it doesn't matter which way you look at it," he said.

"It doesn't matter what happens from this point, they've had a very successful season.

"It doesn't matter if they go on and win it, or they get knocked out in the second week of the finals or whatever, 2011 can only be considered a successful season for the Brisbane Broncos."

- AAP