Darius Boyd's abrupt representative retirement may have shocked most but Brisbane teammate Corey Oates reckons it could not have been timed better, saying the Broncos need their captain "now more than ever".
Oates believes eighth-placed Brisbane's tenuous NRL plight may have been behind Boyd's surprise call to end his rep footy career after being overlooked for last week's State of Origin opener.
The lanky winger admitted Broncos teammates had no idea their skipper Boyd was going to make the announcement but Oates was sure glad the 28 Origin veteran did.
"We knew nothing of it (retirement) but obviously he thinks the Broncos need him," Oates said.
"I think his decision might have had a bit to do with how the club is going.
"He's our captain and we need him now more than ever."
Boyd, 30, pulled the plug on rep footy after failing to bounce back to his best this year while battling lingering hamstring issues.
But Oates believed the veteran fullback would regain his mojo thanks to his bold retirement call.
"He can now focus on playing great footy for the Broncos. I feel he is building every week," he said.
"It will be exciting to see what he can bring for the rest of the year now with his sole focus on us.
"And when Darius is on, (halves) Anthony Milford and Kodi (Nikorima) are on - they build off his confidence.
"We are not playing terrible footy but our second halves aren't doing too great - we could really do with our captain every week now."
Brisbane just held onto their top eight spot despite last round's disappointing 32-16 loss in Melbourne where they were blown away in the second half.
"We were very disappointed in ourselves. I can't really explain what happened to be honest," Oates said of their last round second half fade out.
"It's just mindset, I think."
