Lockyer keen to shrug off history

By Dan Koch
 February 03, 2007
WITH the critics of his captaincy, leadership and playmaking ability silenced by his stunning performances last year, Brisbane skipper Darren Lockyer admits he is looking for new motivations for season 2007.

Finding the drive to win has never been a problem for Lockyer, but he concedes that stinging criticism during the early stages of 2006 played its part in pushing him to what has been regarded by some pundits as the greatest season by an individual in rugby league history.

Lockyer skippered the Broncos to a premiership, Queensland to State of Origin success, and Australia to Tri-Nations glory; and he won the Golden Boot as the world's best player, the Wally Lewis medal as the player of the Origin series, the Ron McAuliffe award as Queensland's players' player, and the Dally M award for five-eighth of the year.

Its is a fair response by anyone's reckoning.

"All the criticism, it just motivated me to want to do better, to be better myself and for the team," he said.

"It became a bit of a chain reaction.

"A couple of people started it and then everyone seemed to jump on the bandwagon. When it gets like that, you can either let it wear you down or use it to your advantage.

"It's not as though that was my only motivation out there. I wanted to be successful for the Broncos and I wanted to get the trophies back for Queensland and for Australia.

"But I really felt as though I had my back up against the wall and had a point to prove to a lot of people, and to finish the year the way I did was pretty satisfying."

While Lockyer will struggle to repeat that success, he is aware of the great challenges that lie ahead.

New South Wales has already signalled its determination to win back the interstate shield, with coach Graham Murray organising a pre-season camp for potential Blues.

And the Broncos are seeking to become the first team to win back-to-back titles since the competition reunited in 1998.

Having been part of the Broncos outfits that struggled to back up the year after premiership wins in 1998 and 2000, Lockyer knows the difficulties facing his side this season.

"You only have to look at what has happened to the last couple of premiers to see how tough it is to stay at the top," Lockyer said.

"Wests Tigers last year (11th) and the Bulldogs (12th) before that both struggled after winning the title.

"So much has to go right for you to win a title these days," Lockyer said.

"The competition gets closer every year, and a bit of luck can be the difference between winning or missing the finals.

"Last year, we had the best run with injuries we've had in several seasons.

"And if that happens again, there's no reason why we can't be right up there."

While Justin Hodges, Karmichael Hunt, Shaun Berrigan and Petero Civoniceva are important components to the Brisbane engine, there is no doubt Lockyer is the key.

He now has a better understanding of what it means to lead a side, as a playmaker and a captain, for which he happily credits coach Wayne Bennett.

Despite having worked together since his teenage years, Lockyer says the difficulties they endured early last year and as Brisbane faced another late-season slide brought them closer.

"We found ourselves in the same boat, particularly early in the year, and we were out there with people throwing rocks at us," Lockyer said.

"So we had to find a way out of it and through that we became closer, a lot closer. I know I learned a lot during that time and am a better player and a better captain for that.

"Being in charge of Australia or Queensland, you have so many great players around you, but at club level you really need to be more of a leader. Hopefully I can improve on that."

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