Broncos

The Broncos centre has been forced to hang up the boots due to complications from a serious shoulder injury he suffered this year.

Despite surgery and intensive rehabilitation attempts since then, it has become apparent that his shoulder will never recover sufficiently to enable him play rugby league again.

As a result, Jack has accepted the advice from his medical team that he has suffered a career-ending injury, and has made the difficult decision to retire from the game, effective immediately.

Coach Wayne Bennett confirmed on Wednesday that neither Reed nor Nikorima will play again this season, with Reed’s ongoing arthritis issues threatening to end the 28-year-old’s career.

Kiwi international Nikorima will also be out of the Broncos finals campaign and most likely New Zealand’s Four Nations tournament as well in November.

Having already had four separate surgeries on his troublesome shoulders in the past, Reed’s future has been clouded since the English international admitted the chronic injuries could affect him for the rest of his life.

It's a common thought in rugby league circles that a top four finish is crucial to a team's premiership chances, a fair assessment when you look at the recent history of the competition.

Since the NRL changed the competition to its current eight-team finals series in 1999, no team outside the top four has ever won the premiership.

In fact, no team has won the NRL grand final from outside the top four since the Bulldogs beat Manly in 1995.

But you only have to go two years prior to find another side that accomplished the feat – Brisbane.

Looking to atone for a crushing 48-6 loss at the hands of the Storm in round 17, the Broncos produced some of their best football of the season on Friday night to secure their fourth-straight win, moving level with the Cowboys and Bulldogs in fourth spot on the table.

Two first-half tries to centre Tom Opacic set the tone for Brisbane, who dominated possession in the opening term and withheld a determined Storm outfit after the break to ensure the race for the top four goes down to the wire.

As the team completed their captain's run in Sydney on Friday Gillett was off having scans on the injury that he sustained whilst playing for Queensland in Game Three of the Holden State of Origin series on Wednesday night.

A final decision on the make-up of the Brisbane team will be made on Saturday morning with Alex Glenn likely to move from the centres to the back row, Lachlan Maranta to come in on the wing and Joe Boyce to play his first NRL game of the season and just the second of his career off the bench.

Game No.100 was a loss to the Warriors, game No.200 a rare Titans win over Brisbane but as he prepares for game No.250 on Sunday there is one game that still haunts Luke Douglas to this day.

It was game No.74 of a career now in its 11th season and was an agonising exit in finals football, a place Douglas has been unable to visit again in the seven years that have since passed.

The all-Queensland angle is a dead horse worth beating as two clubs from rugby league's heartland returning to the game's biggest stage after almost a decade absent is vitally important for the sport as a whole, but it is far from the only reason to get excited about today's clash.