The injured cavalry are back on the horse and have literally trained the house down at Brisbane HQ to give coach Michael Maguire a pleasurable selection headache.
The trio of captain Adam Reynolds, five-eighth Ezra Mam and outside back Selwyn Cobbo, known as “The Three Hamstring Amigos” after being injured last month, all moved with vim and vigour on Monday morning and had punched out an intense session by 8am.
But in a shock announcement after training, the Broncos revealed Billy Walters’ season is all but over after suffering ACL damage in the epic win over the Raiders on Sunday.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today 
“Walters will work with the club’s medical team to assess the next steps in his recovery,” Brisbane said.
The 31-year-old would appear unlikely to play through the injury and risk a full rupture in the preliminary final.
Walters shaped to remain in the side when Reynolds and Mam return after being magnificent at No.6 in attack and a defensive rock since their injuries.
Cory Paix appeared set to be the odd man out but could now receive a lifeline.
Meanwhile, Payne Haas has been cleared of “any serious injury” to his ankle while Brendan Piakura will undergo scans on his cheekbone injury on Tuesday.
But prop Xavier Willison has been cleared to return, having trained before a scheduled scan on the broken right forearm that has kept him out of action since Round 22.
He was followed on the paddock by back-rower Jack Gosiewski, on his way back from a broken collarbone sustained in Round 24.
Reynolds, Mam, Cobbo, Willison and Gosiewski are all in the mix for a potential return in the home preliminary final.
Such has been Cobbo’s progress that the Broncos are mulling over whether to play him for Wynnum Manly in the Queensland Cup preliminary final clash with the Dolphins this weekend.
Mam was working up a sweat and singing along to ‘You to Me Are Everything’ by soul band The Real Thing as it blared out of the Brisbane gym. Spirits were high, as they are when you win through to a grand final qualifier.
Maguire faces a delicate balancing act with his spine. The quartet of Reece Walsh, Billy Walters, Ben Hunt and Cory Paix have won five from five since Reynolds and Mam were injured.
The skipper is almost certain to come back into the team at halfback and that will shift Hunt either to five-eighth or hooker.
Maguire was cautious in the press conference after the stunning 29-28 golden-point win over Canberra when asked about Reynolds and the injured brigade’s return date.
“I don’t know,” he said.
“(Reynolds) is travelling well and then you have to adjudicate how much players have been playing and the momentum of the side.
“Reyno at the moment is tracking in the right direction.
“I will look at the game and how we are moving and doing things. The boys are doing a good job, so it’s a nice place to be as a coach, to have decisions and I will make them moving forward.”
Meanwhile, late on Monday morning Brisbane were weighing up whether to challenge a dangerous contact charge against star lock Pat Carrigan after his hit on Raiders forward Morgan Smithies.
Carrigan will miss a week if he accepts an early guilty plea but faces being potentially rubbed out of the grand final if the Broncos challenge and lose at the judiciary.
Brisbane’s brains trust were watching vision of the collision and comparing it with videos from the NRL library of similar incidents.
The club has until noon on Tuesday to notify the NRL one way or the other.
If Carrigan is rubbed out, the potential return of Willison would be a godsend.
Willison has done some controlled contact at training but not as much reactive contact where there is more risk.
The Broncos will determine if there has been sufficient healing in his arm and assess his training progress before playing him.
- with AAP
Stream free on
