The Brisbane Broncos have been forced into a late change for their clash against the Sydney Roosters, with second rower Brendan Piakura ruled out of the game.
As confirmed by Broncos coach Kevin Walters earlier today, Piakura will be unavailable for the blockbuster game due to a virus- the second straight week he has been a late withdrawal.
His unavailability means that young prop Xavier Wilson will move into the lock-forward role pushing Patrick Carrigan to the right back-row position.
“Patty feels he has brought a lot of hardness to the right edge so we will go with him again,” Broncos coach Kevin Walters said.
“Brendan has been crook and he won't play. He has been ill again with some sort of virus, but that's OK, we have got good people coming in to fill those roles.
“Xavier has had two good weeks for us, just getting used to the speed of the NRL has been a bit of a hike for him.
“But he is on top of that now and his progress last week (against Souths) was really good, particularly defensively.
“We all know he carries the ball strongly, but defensively I thought he brought a lot of the team.
“We have great respect for the Roosters, but we have been in good touch as well the last month.
“It will be a great contest at the Gabba.”
The Brisbane Broncos will host the Sydney Roosters at The Gabba on Thursday evening with kick-off set for 19:50 AEST.
