Meyers' Time To Shine
by
Wednesday March 12, 2003

Brad Meyers has very little memory of his Test debut for Australia. It came during the Kangaroos' 28-10 victory in Wellington on that Black Friday in July 2001.  It was just 20 minutes into the game when centre Clinton Toopi hit Meyers with a forearm well after a tackle had been completed, and it left the then 21-year-old unconscious.  What should have been the young forward's proudest Rugby League memory so far became little more than a distant blur.

Since then Meyers has been a shadow of the player that had ANZ Stadium patrons donning red wigs in honour of the latest hero to spring out of Red Hill.  Just weeks earlier Meyers had devastated New South Wales in the deciding State of Origin match - Allan Langer's surprise swansong - and despite all the attention rightly being directed towards the Little General, Meyers' performance was still lauded.

His power and strength, and his towering height, made him an instant crowd favourite and his performances for the Broncos around that time were outstanding.  The Broncos were sitting pretty on top of the ladder in their premiership defence and seemingly destined for another assault on the NRL silverware.

But then Toopi struck.  The transformation in Meyers was astounding.  Where he had been previously charging into the defence, struggling to get his arms free and offloading to his fleet footed supported, and menacing opponents with devastating tackles, Meyers was now tentative both with and without the ball.  He would baulk at the line, he would brace for the impact.  The fire in Big Red was extinguished.

His pain continued through much of 2002.  He lost his State of Origin spot.  He lost his Test spot.  He found himself playing for the Toowoomba Clydesdales in the Queensland Cup.  He fought back with an inspirational performance in the Baby Broncos' 28-14 win over Wests Tigers in round 12, sans Origin stars, but the consistency still wasn't there.  Eventually Corey Parker took his starting spot back and again Meyers was struggling to gain favour.

But Big Red has said "enough's enough".  Meyers dug deep during the offseason, working hard on his fitness, at the same time building up his mental toughness, busting through the pain barrier.  He wants his Test jersey back.  He wants his Origin jersey back.  But before he can achieve either of those goals, he needed to regain his Broncos starting spot.

His form during Brisbane's trial wins over the Sydney Roosters and Bulldogs was very strong, and he has been rewarded with a starting spot against Penrith this Sunday.  Coach Wayne Bennett has named a massive pack to take on the strugglers of the past two years, and Meyers knows that he can't let this opportunity slip.  He's primed for a big game, and the Panthers will be anything but excited about the prospect of an in form, fired up Brad Meyers coming at them.

Meyers won't be bracing himself for impact this Sunday.  But he'll be making sure his opponents are.