Lockyer not taking any chances

Brisbane skipper Darren Lockyer has insisted he won’t put himself at risk by playing with a rib injury in Friday’s blockbuster with Parrammatta.

Lockyer suffered the injury in a heavy tackle from North Queensland’s Luke O’Donnell during the Broncos’ 34-26 win in Townsville on Friday.

The 51 test veteran endured a mild training session on Monday but said he will not risk himself to play in Friday’s match with the Eels.

“It’s not too bad, it feels pretty good today, but from previous experience with ribs I know not to push the barriers with them,” he said.

“I will assess things on Monday, I will do a bit of contact work to see how it feels and I’ll go from there.

“There is a little bit of damage there and I don’t want to make it worse.

“If playing next week is potentially going to make it worse, then I’ll sit out a week.”

Hooker Andrew McCullough said the Broncos were hoping Lockyer would be on deck for the Eels showdown.

“He’s a tough guy, we’ll see how he goes during the week,” McCullough said.

“He’s certainly experienced enough to make his own mind up about how he’s feeling.

“We’ll enjoy the win [over the Cowboys], it’s a long year, Parramatta will be an interesting game, there will be a big crowd there.”