Brisbane Broncos coach Kevin Walters has made the surprise revelation that gun winger Selwyn Cobbo will replace Herbie Farnworth in the centres this season.
Cobbo has established himself as one of the most exciting finishers in the NRL and has scored 37 tries in 49 games for the Broncos since his 2021 debut.
The 21-year-old played on a wing in Queensland’s victorious 2022 and 2023 State of Origin campaigns and made his Kangaroos debut against Samoa last year.
And with Farnworth now across town at the Dolphins, many observers expected the highly touted Deine Mariner to slot straight into the centres and Cobbo to continue strutting his stuff out wide.
But Walters threw a cat among the pigeons when speaking to reporters at Red Hill on Monday.
“That’s the plan, to move him (Cobbo) into that role,” Walters said.
“It’s probably a bit more natural for him in the centres than the wing. So far he’s been really good there, I guess we’ll find out more when we start playing, and he starts having to make more tackles and do all those things the great centres do.
“He’s still only young, Selwyn, he’s still maturing, but his fitness levels and strength will get better as the year goes on.
“His footy IQ is very good, he’s a very intelligent player, which you need to be playing those centre roles – particularly defensively, I feel, and that’s where he’s going to be a good asset for us.
“Deine’s obviously a good young player; it’s just a matter of finding the right position for him.”
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