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Ben Hunt has been handed the task of guiding the Broncos to a top eight finish, after Ivan Henjak named him at halfback for this Friday’s pivotal round 26 match against the Canberra Raiders.

Hunt replaces the out of sorts Peter Wallace, who only played the first-half against the Warriors last week before succumbing to a shoulder injury.

The only other change to the team is the inclusion of Nick Kenny, who takes the bench spot left vacant by Hunt’s promotion to the starting side.

Darren Lockyer has ruled himself out as a surprise inclusion.

The Broncos team in full is:

1. Josh Hoffman
2. Antonio Winterstein
3. Alex Glenn
4. Israel Folau
5. Jharal Yow Yeh
6. Corey Norman
7. Ben Hunt
8. Shane Tronc
9. Andrew McCullough
10. Ben Te’o
11. Matt Gillett
12. Sam Thaiday
13. Corey Parker (C)

14. Nick Kenny
15. Josh McGuire
16. Mitchell Dodds
17. Scott Anderson

If they are to make the finals, the Broncos need to win by 15 points or more against the Raiders and hope that the Dragons beat the Rabbitohs.

Keep visiting BroncosHQ for a full match preview later this week.

That's all it takes. Those simple things happen and the Broncos make the finals for the 18th season in a row.

Of course it all sounds so easy. The Broncos are going in with a home ground advantage, in front of what is to be a big crowd at Suncorp Stadium. Also, the Dragons are the Premiership favourites, so surely they will knock over the Rabbitohs!

But we cannot do anything to affect the St George v Souths game. All we can do is play to win against the Raiders by at least 15 points, and simply hope for the right result out of WIN Jubilee Stadium in Sunday Night Football.

This game will come down to one important thing - defence. If the Raiders score two tries, suddenly we have to score 27 points. So we need to 1) prevent them from scoring and 2) take advantage of all of our opportunities.

At the top of their game, the Broncos are certainly up to this task. But obviously at the moment, they are not at the top of their game. Therefore we need to change things up a bit.

Peter Wallace is likely to miss the match with a shoulder injury. Wallace has certainly been out of sorts lately so it may force Henjak to really shake things up a bit. Wallace has had no help from his forwards lately, so that is also an area which needs to be looked at in our final chance at finals football in 2010.

The big question is the obvious one. Will Lockyer play? Henjak has indicated that he won't, but will surely give Lockyer right up until the last minute to prove his fitness. Because one could be forgiven for thinking that without him out there calling the shots, the Broncos are no hope of even winning the game, let alone winning by 15 or more. But in our last roll of the dice for 2010, I think he will play through the pain. I have no inside word or anything, but Lockyer is a true champion of the game and, even though he has absolutely nothing else to prove, he will be determined to help get the Broncos into the finals and make a push for their seventh Premiership. Call it optimism, but as long as we are in the finals, and Lockyer is fit, we are a hope. At our best this year, we have had some great victories over good teams including St George and Manly, and a memorable win against Melbourne when not even the Broncos' biggest fans (including this one) gave them a hope.

Getting back to the change up, I would go for this side, assuming Lockyer will play.

1. Josh Hoffman
   
2. Antonio Winterstein
3. Alex Glenn
4. Israel Folau
5. Jharal Yow Yeh
6. Darren Lockyer
7. Ben Hunt
8. Shane Tronc
9. Andrew McCullough
10. Ashton Sims
11. Sam Thaiday
12. Ben Te'o
13. Corey Parker
14. Matt Gillett
15. Josh McGuire
16. Mitchell Dodds
17. Scott Anderson

The Broncos' late season form has continued tonight, with a terrible defensive performance resulting in a 36-4 thumping at the hands of the Warriors.

In a night where absolutely nothing went right (until a try to Jharal Yow Yeh in the 77th minute), the Warriors took advantage of a big lack of go-forward from the Broncos pack and waltzed away to score seven tries. The win seals a finals spot for the Warriors and gives them an opportunity to host a home final.

For the Broncos on the other hand, as if a loss wasn't bad enough, their for and against has taken a battering and now stands at -25. A big win from Canberra over North Queensland this weekend could see the Broncos not only have to win next week, but win by a big margin.

The night began as many people expected it to - a try to Manu Vatuvei. The Beast continued his good form by out-leaping Yow Yeh for the first four pointer in what was very much a sign of things to come. There were four more tries for the Warriors in the first half and the match was all over by halftime. The Broncos never looked likely to stage any kind of a comeback.

The second half started with Peter Wallace succumbing to a shoulder injury, forcing him to the bench for the remainder of the game. After that it was a familiar site, with the Warriors running in two more tries, including a speculator to fullback Lance Hohaia, who danced through a staggered Broncos defensive line and chipped over the top of Josh Hoffman to regather and score. This was Hohaia's second try of the night, with Lewis Brown also grabbing a double.

The Broncos made a few breaks down the right hand side of the field but all ended with the ball runners taking bad options such as kicking the ball or running themselves, instead of passing to an unmarked support player.

The last try came off a nicely placed kick by Ben Hunt and a nice leap by Yow Yeh. Obviously it was way too little, way too late.

The loss will surely see plenty of calls for Darren Lockyer to return this week against the Raiders, in what WAS to be the eighth place play-off. As mentioned earlier, the margin of tonight's loss could mean a massive win is what's needed for the Broncos to make the finals for the 19th year in a row. But throwing a spanner in the works was tonight's victory by Souths over Parramatta. As it stands right now, the Broncos are in 9th position, and now need to rely on St George beating Souths next week as well as beating Canberra.

Peter Wallace will reportedly miss next week's game against the Raiders as well, thanks to his shoulder injury, which could mean a possible spot for Ben Hunt in the halves to partner the returning Lockyer.

After tonight's result, one thing is for certain, changes need to be made to the Broncos side.

Match Preview: Warriors v Broncos

An unchanged Brisbane Broncos line-up will head across the Tasman to face the New Zealand Warriors in a tough round 25 battle. The Broncos need a win in order to gain some much needed confidence. However, facing a Warriors side looking to secure a top eight position with a win will make this task a difficult one. A Broncos loss could see them fall out of the eight and as low as 11th by the round's end. A Broncos win however, could see them finish as high as 6th, which if combined with an unlikely Raiders loss, would see the proud club secure a 19th straight finals appearance.

Inspirational captain Darren Lockyer, who is still recovering from a rib cartilage injury, is not expected to strap on the boots for at least another week. This is especially the case as a likely Raiders win against the Cowboys will result in a round 26, 8th position play off, regardless of this game's result. The team has said on numerous occasions that they can win without Lockyer. A win against the Warriors would be the perfect way to prove it and silence the critics as well.

After last week’s embarrassing defeat at the hands of Newcastle, the Broncos will surely be out to prove they can do better and they have shown on occasions this season that they can match it with the best if the right attitude is present. Lockyer may not be there to call the shots and steady the ship but 17 men with the right attitude, particularly in defence, will make this game a close one regardless. The home side will be missing inspirational lock Micheal Luck who suffered from a horrific cut on his leg playing against Manly, however they do have a handy replacement in former QLD Origin forward Jacob Lillyman.

The Warriors are one of the most physical teams in the competition, so this match will be won and lost in the forwards. The props in particular need to make consistent and significant impact when running the ball to keep the team on the front foot. The Warriors are behind only Penrith in scoring off tries, so the Brisbane back three will need to be ready for a big game. Andrew McCullough continuing his brilliant form from last week will be a big factor in leading the forwards and relieving the under pressure halves combination, Corey Norman and Peter Wallace. The Broncos struggled last week, and indeed have for a long time, to wrap up the ball carrier. The Warriors team are known for their offloading ability, so restricting this area of their game will go a long way to minimising the pressure on the defence and will nullify a big part of the Warriors attacking game. Finally, for the Broncos to give themselves the best chance to win, the senior players in the team will need to lead by example, by playing disciplined, error-free football.

Prediction – last week's big loss will ensure the Broncos head into this game focussed and ready to play, however that is no guarantee they will emerge victorious. The Warriors are a tough team at home and coming off a heart breaking three point loss, they will be looking to win in their final home game of the season in order to secure a finals spot. My tip is Warriors 1-12 in a close one.

All that being said,

GO THE BRONCOS!