NRL premiers Brisbane will field a revamped back-row in next month's World Club Challenge after star forward Brendan Piakura underwent surgery for a knee injury.
Piakura, 23, sustained a meniscus tear in pre-season training and the club has forecast an eight-week recovery, ruling him out of the opening rounds of the NRL as well.
His loss is a blow considering the impact he brought last season with his crunching hits in defence and as a hole-running specialist.
The Broncos travel to England on February 10 to prepare for the clash 10 days later with Super League champions Hull KR.
Two obvious like-for-like replacements for Piakura are Jack Gosiewski or Jaiyden Hunt, second-rowers who did the job whenever called on by coach Michael Maguire last season.
Neither were in the 17 that played in the grand final, with Cook Islands international Piakura and Jordan Riki the starting second-rowers.
Bench forward Xavier Willison can play prop or on an edge and is a candidate to join Riki against the Robins.
Willison has started six of his 51 NRL games in the back row but it was as a middle forward that he enjoyed a breakout 2025 season, coming off the bench in the grand final with great impact. He later won the Pacific Cup with New Zealand.
The Broncos have a couple of bench forward positions to fill from last year's decider, with Kobe Hetherington (Manly) and Tyson Smoothy (Wakefield Trinity) both moving on.
Towering prop Ben Te Kura, late bloomer Ben Talty and former Dolphins tough nut Aublix Tawha are all in the mix.
