Battles begin: Who triumphs in key selection trials for Queensland clubs?

It’s so close, you can smell it. You can hear it.

The NRL season is here, and for the four Queensland clubs, there will be key selection questions to answer as the trials begin this weekend. We break down those battles.

Brisbane Broncos: Who replaces powerhouse props?

Broncos rookie Xavier Willison has declared he was ready to fill one of the gaping voids in Brisbane’s forward pack.

Seeking to avenge last year’s grand final, coach Kevin Walters will be on the hunt for which player replaces the outgoing Thomas Flegler (Dolphins) and Keenan Palasia (Titans) in the front-row rotation.

While Flegler’s starting jumper is likely to go to an experienced head – Corey Jensen, Marty Taupau, Kobe Hetherington and Fletcher Baker are the contenders – Willison is firming to take Palasia’s bench role, a responsibility that proved crucial in the second half of 2023.

Axed midway through the campaign, Palasia returned and produced career-best form – the impact he provided culminating in 150 grand final running metres in a 38-minute stint.

He ensured the Broncos lost little when Flegler was interchanged, and Willison declared he was the man to assume that mantle.

And having missed his side’s finals charge with a syndesmosis injury, which followed a season-ending ACL rupture the year before, Brisbane’s trials will give him the chance to prove he belongs in the side, without feeling the need to emulate the likes of Flegler.

“I bring my own attributes. Fleg was his own player, and I’m my own player, so I’m just trying to make my own statement,” Willison said.

“I’ve gone through some injuries, but I’ve got a taste of first grade now, so I hope I can just keep building on that.

“It was the worst timing (the syndesmosis injury), but everything happens for a reason. I trust the process, and hopefully, we can come back to the grand final this year, and I’m available.”

Dolphins: One spot seemingly remains – who takes the left wing?

Tesi Niu has revealed he shed 8 kilograms in the preseason, as he hopes to impress upon Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett he belongs in his backline.

Star recruit Herbie Farnworth looks set to shift from his Broncos right-centre role to the left alongside winger Jamayne Isaako, meaning Niu will battle with Jack Bostock, Valynce Te Whare and former Bulldog Jake Averillo.

“It was probably my diet (that I needed to change), so I just had a good off-season and spent time with the family,” Niu said.

“At the moment I’m training in the centres … (but) I’ve been training at both (centre and wing). We’ve got a lot of depth and a lot of good competition.”

While Niu brings 49 games of NRL experience into the mix, Bostock has shown promising signs.

The 20-year-old managed four caps in his debut season, saving his best for last in the round 27 triumph over the Warriors with four tackles, a line break, 177 running metres and an aerobatic try.

Bostock believes Averillo will take one spot on the left, and the rookie revealed he had been partaking in several extra sessions alongside Isaako in his quest to claim the remaining vacancy.

“I’d like to be in the NRL team a lot more consistently this year. I know last year I played a few games, but I was a bit in and out of the team,” Bostock said.

“I feel like I’ve been going all right, you don’t get a whole lot of feedback from Wayne … so it’s hard to get a gauge on what the team will look like.

“My body’s getting used to it, which is the main thing – I feel like I’m a lot tougher coming into training.”

Gold Coast Titans: One of the most menacing starting packs is set – who aids the cause?

The Titans possess one of the most daunting packs in the competition, with Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, Moeaki Fotuaika and Keenan Palasia an imposing trio.

However, the influence of the bench is key, as shown by reigning grand finalists Penrith and Brisbane, both of whom had real strength in that area.

The impact made by props such as Palasia (who was with the Broncos last season) and Spencer Leniu (who played for the Panthers last season) proved crucial, and could open the door for Titans’ teenager Josiah Pahulu.

The 19-year-old has caught the eye of the club’s senior players under the brutal regime of coach Des Hasler, and proved on his Queensland Cup debut for Burleigh he had X-factor – running for 153 metres while making 18 tackles off the bench.

“He’s taken another step, especially with Des now putting a lot of pressure on him,” Titans veteran Isaac Liu said.

“From what I’ve seen this preseason, he’s been training really well, and hopefully, we see good things and probably get some game time this year.”

North Queensland Cowboys: A Test star departs – who takes centre stage?

Papua New Guinea international Zac Laybutt and former Warrior Viliami Vailea appear locked in a two-way shootout for the centre spot vacated by Super League-bound Peta Hiku.

Scoring three tries from his four Cowboys’ clashes while averaging 133 running metres, the 22-year-old Laybutt has impressed coach Todd Payten with his unflappable nature.

What partly derailed North Queensland last year was their edge defence, which conceded the eighth-most points in the competition in a dramatic freefall from their 2022 preliminary final exploits.

Laybutt could be the man to solve that problem.

“He’s physically developed … he’s broadened in the shoulders, strong in the gym, good on the wrestle mat,” Payten said.

“We’ve adjusted a bit with what we’re doing on our edges in our defensive decisions and movements, we have had to reprogram a little bit in our guys, and he’s a really smart kid and adjusted nicely.

“Not much fazes him. He’s had to grow into it and work out what it takes to perform week after week on the training pitch, and out on the park on the weekend.

“But he’s maturing, and he’s getting a good grasp of it. Playing international footy isn’t easy to do, and he was really strong.”