Patrick Carrigan has slowly been adding to his trophy cabinet in 2022, firstly securing the Origin shield in his maiden series before lifting the World Cup late last month, but he isn't done yet.
The lock forward collected the Wally Lewis medal after a stellar campaign in a Maroon jersey, followed by a bench role for the Kangaroos, yet there's one elusive piece of silverware that Carrigan is eyeing off.
A premiership.
Brisbane came tumbling out of finals contention this year, going from 4th place in Round 19 to 9th after Round 25, undoing months of hard work in a few weeks, and leaving Carrigan hurting to return to finals footy.
The 24 year-old has played just one finals game, the infamous 58-0 loss to Parramatta in 2019, and is eager to build on that bittersweet day in 2023.
"All of the rep accolades are nice and being part of those teams but all I ever wanted to do as a kid was play for the Brisbane Broncos, and second to that was win a comp'," he said to the AAP at the Broncos' jersey launch for next year.
"Every year that rolls around that we don't do that is 'X amount' of years since 2006.
"Being around those (World Cup) guys and the Penrith guys has made me hungrier than ever to put myself in that position."
Due for minor ankle surgery in the next week, Carrigan is targeting the first week of January as his return date, leaving him fully fit for the club's trial games in mid-February.
They'll take on Penrith in Round 1, and despite being their rivals, Carrigan has learnt a lot from Penrith trio Nathan Cleary, Isaah Yeo and Liam Martin during the World Cup campaign.
"It sounds weird but just the way they talk about their footy in an open forum. No-one is having a go at each other but everything they talk about is getting better," Carrigan said.
"It is part of their culture and it is something we can do better at the club. In saying that, they are all freaks as well."
It's clear that the middle-forward is as hungry as anyone in Red Hill for a successful 2023 season, and it appears he isn't the only one.
"You play to win grand finals and be part of the big games. That is what I want to do next year," he said.
"We need to find consistency and then another gear. Clubs like Penrith and Melbourne know how to get it done, and we are learning that at the moment.
"There are areas that Kev (Walters) is stressing at the moment that need to be more squeaky clean and that is what we are working on."
