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Brisbane coach Kevin Walters is confident Selwyn Cobbo is up to the task but want the NRL rookie's teammates to help him stop South Sydney winger Alex Johnston.
When your defensive record is as poor as Brisbane's, pitching NRL rookie Selwyn Cobbo against South Sydney's Alex Johnston appears a recipe for disaster.
Johnston has scored back-to-back hat-tricks for the Rabbitohs to take his tally to 15 tries this season and poses an ominous threat to the Broncos who have conceded a league-high 436 points in 2021.
Standing opposite Johnston will be third-gamer Cobbo who is 120 tries behind Johnston in his NRL career after opening his first-grade account last weekend against Canberra.
Broncos coach Kevin Walters said stopping Souths' lethal left-edge will come to more than just Cobbo's efforts.
"It's not just young Selwyn's job to do that ... it's that whole right edge that are up against a very good attacking side," Walters said.
"They need to work together to solve the problems rather than putting all the pressure on Selwyn."
Queensland State of Origin winger Xavier Coates (hamstring) looks set to return after missing the defeat to the Raiders while Karmichael Hunt will play his first game at Suncorp Stadium for the Broncos since a semi-final win over St George Illawarra in 2009.
Brisbane may have won four of their past five games against the Rabbitohs at home, but Wayne Bennett's team head north averaging 26 points a game and boosted by the return of Origin quartet Damien Cook, Cameron Murray, Dane Gagai and Jai Arrow,
Bennett said the decision to omit Benji Marshall from his squad was simply to give the veteran a week off, while NSW star Latrell Mitchell is all clear to play.
"Didn't train him on Tuesday or Monday so he's really fresh today," Bennett, who'll coach his 200th match at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday, said of Mitchell.
"He moved really good today, so he'll be ready to go.
"Benji's been really good for us but he's just one player we're missing, we've got a full squad.
"Everyone's fit to play."
