NRL Rd 9 - Broncos v Bulldogs
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - JULY 11: Corey Oates of the Broncos celebrates his team's victory during the round nine NRL match between the Brisbane Broncos and the Canterbury Bulldogs at Suncorp Stadium on July 11, 2020 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)

A greater work ethic has Broncos winger Corey Oates entering his contract season with the confidence he can prolong his NRL career, a thought that didn't seem possible for the eight-time Maroons representative not too long ago.

Oates has battled with form across the course of the past 18 months, having also balanced injury setbacks to feature on just 28 occasions for Brisbane since the end of 2019.

The 27-year-old was dropped early into the club's horror 2020 campaign, with youth taking a front seat for the Broncos as they soon forged a wooden spoon for their efforts.

Oates has since looked to take care of his body and avoid doing just the "bare minimum" to scrape through each week.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 08: Corey Oates of the Broncos watches on during the round one NRL match between the St George Illawarra Dragons and the Brisbane Broncos at UOW Jubilee Oval on March 8, 2018 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Speaking to The Daily TelegraphOates said he's primed to work for his next contract this year after moving on from his bad habits.

“I feel good and think I can last a lot longer now," Oates said. “This year means a lot. This is my future this year.

“I’m off-contract and my performances will be everything.”

Having reflected on the past several seasons at Red Hill, the Biloela product knew he must make further changes to his patterns in order to keep his career alive, with Oates already seeing the results.

“It’s been a tough few years, not only for the team but also myself on the field,” Oates added.

“I haven’t looked after my body. I’ve sort of just moped around and not dealt with all the change too well.

Embed from Getty Images

“That’s affected my performances a lot. I just went along with it and did the bare minimum. I’ve changed a lot in the last six months.

“At the back end of last year I started doing a lot of extra things for myself and my body. I wish I did it two years ago when things got pretty tough."

With Kevin Walters looking to steer the Broncos back into the finals picture, the Brisbane coach will be relying on his squad depth to deliver when called upon.

Oates will be contending for greater opportunities in 2022 after playing just 14 games last year, with Xavier Coates' departure sure to see his fellow Queenslander in reach of retaining a starting spot under Walters.

The Broncos were able to add Brenko Lee and Jordan Pereira ahead of the new year in order to combat their recent losses, however Oates could firm as a diamond in the rough should his improved efforts pay dividends.

1 COMMENT

  1. No sympathy. he sulked about Bennett and let the team suffer. Now he wants to be part of the rebuild because his contract is on the line. Off to the Dolphins Corey and about half the contract value.

Comments are closed.