Lockyer's supremacy to test Saints patience

When the opposing coach refers to Darren Lockyer in a matter-of-fact way as the best player in the world, nobody disagrees. Not even, these days, Lockyer.

The Brisbane Broncos' captain, who leads them in the World Club Challenge against St Helens at Bolton's Reebok Stadium tonight, used to be uncomfortable about that tag.

When Andrew Johns was in his pomp, Lockyer and others would occasionally demur. It is not something worth arguing about now; hence the routine observation about his status in the game from Saints' Daniel Anderson.

"I don't think too much about it," Lockyer said. "I just know I'm playing the game I love, for a club I really enjoy being with." It is debatable whether any player has ever enjoyed a season the way he did 2006. After a shaky start, when some were querying whether the Broncos should move him out of the stand-off role, Lockyer swept the board, leading Brisbane to the NRL title, Queensland to victory in State of Origin and Australia to eventual triumph in the Tri-Nations.

"It was something special and I feel very honoured to have been a part of it all," he said. "Although this is a new year, I feel as though the World Club Challenge is part of 2006 - the missing piece in the jigsaw, if you like."

That could be bad news for Saints, because Lockyer is reflecting a general mood within the Broncos' camp that they have unfinished business from last season. Unlike some of their predecessors, they have treated the mission with complete seriousness, even playing a game in Wales last week to help them adapt to British conditions.

With Saints making an undistinguished start to the season and likely to be without key personnel such as Paul Sculthorpe and Keiron Cunningham, the betting is heavily on the Broncos, but Lockyer warns against reading too much into early form. "At the Broncos we've won Premierships and started the following season poorly. It didn't mean we'd suddenly become bad players," he said.

Besides, Saints will have one player Lockyer has experienced at his best. Before he imploded during the Tri-Nations, Sean Long showed Australia how well he can play if he is in tune with his muse. "We saw the way he played against us in Sydney," he said. "He played a perfect game that day and we know what he is capable of. But like me, he needs the forwards in front of him to play well before he can do that."

As for Long, he admittedtonight's game might have been an unconscious distraction contributing to the recent defeats by Harlequins and Wakefield.

"It's probably been in the back of our minds. It's a big event and nobody wants to miss it," he said. "We're one game away from putting our season right." Whether Saints have the team available to do that tonight must be subject to some doubt. Apart from the departures of Jamie Lyon and Paul Anderson and the likely absence of Cunningham, Sculthorpe and Maurie Faasavalu, you are never quite sure of where you stand when it comes to Saints and injuries. If Jason Hooper plays it will be with a shoulder that is already booked in for a stabilisation operation tomorrow.

Against that, Brisbane have lost just three players from their Grand Final team - Shane Webcke, who has retired, the injured David Stagg, and Casey McGuire, who now plays for the Catalans Dragons.

As well as Lockyer, they have seven other current Australian internationals - a sure sign of the depth of quality in their squad. True, Webcke is impossible to replace adequately in the front row and their wingers are relatively inexperienced, but the Broncos still look formidable.

Long points out that Saints were not favourites when they met Brisbane at the same venue in 2001 and, aided by a second-half hailstorm, beat them 20-18. "We could be looking to the heavens again," he said.

Tonight's teams at Bolton

St Helens

FB Paul Wellens

RW Ade Gardner

RC Matt Gidley

LC Willie Talau

LW Francis Meli

SO Leon Pryce

SH Sean Long (Capt)

P Jason Cayless

H James Roby`

P Nick Fozzard

SR Jon Wilkin

SR Lee Gilmour

LF James Graham

Subs:

Bryn Hargreaves, Mike Bennett, Scott Moore, Jason Hooper

Brisbane Broncos

FB Karmichael Hunt

RW Darius Boyd

RC Brent Tate

LC Justin Hodges

LW Steve Michaels

SO Darren Lockyer (Capt)

SH Shane Perry

P Dane Carlaw

H Shaun Berrigan

P Petero Civoniceva

SR Corey Parker

SR Brad Thorn

LF Tonie Carroll

Subs:

Ben Hannant, Michael Ennis, Sam Thaiday, Greg Eastwood

Referee: Steven Clark (Aus)

Kick-off: 8pm. TV: SS1.