Pat Carrigan had a breakout season in 2022, but there’s still plenty of things he wants to achieve with the Broncos.
Carrigan created history in 2022, becoming the first debutant to win the Wally Lewis Medal after starring for Queensland in the State of Origin Series and went on to win a World Cup with Australia.
“Last year was fun, I’m really grateful for everything that happened,” Carrigan said.
“It’s a new year and there is a bit I want to achieve this year with the Broncos.”
The 25-year-old has quickly established himself as a leader at Red Hill and an integral part of the Broncos pack.
He believes the whole squad learned a lot from the end of last season and is hungry to return to September footy.
“We took our lessons from last year, it makes you really hungry to have a good year this year,” he said.
“The f word – playing finals footy – gets tossed around with us a lot.
“We are training really hard and putting ourselves in a position to build throughout the year, which is important, it’s a long year.
“We have been working on the habits that probably let us down last year, as a group we are fresh.
“We have to work hard for each other, that is the biggest thing I’ve learned.
“If we have 36 guys here that want to keep getting better, improving and pushing each other, we will have a really strong club.”
The Broncos will be bolstered by the return to fitness of Herbie Farnworth, who missed the second half of last season, and new additions Reece Walsh and Martin Taupau.
“There are a few new faces in Marty Taupau and Reece Walsh – who have played a lot of footy, it’s exciting time for the boys and the club,” he said.
“Marty has done everything in the game and is a real point of difference for us and he’ll be really important. For the young Pacifica guys we have here in terms of being a mentor and leading them around, he’ll be really great.
“Walshy is one of my best mates at the club, I’m super excited to have him back, he just brings a lot of energy and loves playing footy.
“When you play footy with your best mates, there is nothing better, if you pull on a broncos jersey on top of that, it’s awesome. We have the best fans, they pack out Suncorp Stadium.”
The Broncos will get another hit out against the Titans on Sunday as they build towards the NRL season. While Carrigan won’t be playing in this clash, he believes the squad will have a strong showing.
“As a team we will play an exciting brand of footy,” he said.
“Kevvie encourages us to be that sort of team, while working on our resilience, put the two of those together, I think we’ll be alright this season.”
Source: BrisbaneBroncos.com.au