Broncos eye forward-pack reshuffle with Carrigan at prop

A forward-pack reshuffle is on the cards for the Brisbane Broncos in the 2025 NRL, with Patrick Carrigan expressing his willingness to move to prop to make way for Kobe Hetherington at lock.

Carrigan was a standout for the Broncos in the second-row last season, winning player of the year for the rugby league club.

Hetherington, on the other hand, did not see many minutes, starting from the bench for the majority of Brisbane’s matches.

But with coach Michael Maguire eager to hang on to Hetherington, and the 25-year-old pushing for a spot in the starting lineup, Carrigan moving to prop may be the path forward.

Carrigan made it clear this week that if this is what Maguire wants, then he will not stand in the way of the change.

“I think we’re just playing with a few things at the moment as a club, but I’ll always put this club first and my teammates first and whatever position I have to play, it is what it is,” he said.

“It’s not too dissimilar to me.

“I’ve played different positions last year, too, and the year before, whether it be anywhere in the middle, so it is what it is.

“And I mean, to be honest, at the end of the day, whatever number you wear it’s just a number, right? So, I’m not too fazed.”

The veteran spoke positively about the dynamic between himself and Hetherington as well.

“I love playing with Kobe,” he said.

“He’s a tough old fella, he reminds me of some of the Broncos Old Boys and I’m excited for what he’s going to do this year because he’s got a really good pre-season.”

“We’re both competing for whatever spot it is in the forward pack, so the more we work hard and work with each other, the better we’re both going to be.

“Kobe’s a fine talent that’s more than capable of playing 13 at any other club in the NRL.

On his own game, Carrigan believes that the addition of new attacking coach Trent Barrett has helped him improve his own skillset ahead of the 2025 season.

“I’ve really enjoyed working with him so far on attack and he’s going to keep encouraging me to play my game and play what I see,” he said.

“And to be honest, I’ve really enjoyed adding a couple of strings to my bow and doing some things with him.

“I just want to keep working on things and play my brand of footy.”

The Broncos get their season underway on Thursday, March 6 against the Sydney Roosters, with NRL betting sites putting them at $1.78 to win.

Despite their 12th-place finish in 2024, the top bookmakers put Brisbane on the third line of betting to win the title this season.

BetOnline pays $8 for the Broncos to win the Premiership, behind the Melbourne Storm ($3.75) and Penrith Panthers ($4.33) but ahead of the Cronulla Sharks ($13), Canterbury Bulldogs ($15) and Manly Sea Eagles ($15).

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