Some brutal home truths have steeled Brisbane's pack for their NRL clash with North Queensland after Sam Thaiday claimed the Broncos forwards let their halves down against St George Illawarra.
Halfback Kodi Nikorima and pivot Anthony Milford have copped criticism for their lack of impact after the Broncos were thrashed 34-12 by the Dragons in their season-opener last week.
But veteran back-rower Thaiday says the forwards were to blame and wants to make amends against the Cowboys after some sobering honesty sessions.
"When your forwards are making mistakes like we did we didn't give them a chance to show any of their talent," ex-Broncos skipper Thaiday said.
"I put my hand up personally. We had a couple of tough conversations through the week about what we needed to do as a forward pack to help those guys.
"We let those guys down."
Thaiday, 32, admitted he was thankful to be relieved of hooker duties against the Cowboys after the No.9 experiment backfired against the Dragons.
Andrew McCullough will return as starting hooker, relegating Thaiday to the bench - not that the veteran forward had any complaints.
"It's definitely a tough position. I probably got ahead of myself playing there and actually thought I was a dummy half," Thaiday said of last week's error-riddled display.
"I should have played more like a forward and made sure I got the ball to the right people at the right time.
"I am looking forward to pushing back into the forwards and doing something I actually know."
Now into his 16th and final NRL season, off-contract Thaiday had no problem with young gun Tevita Pangai Jr grabbing a starting front-row spot ahead of him against the Cowboys.
"I am more than happy to take a step back and and promote these young guys as much as I can," Thaiday said.
"They are the future of the club.
"It might be my position going forward, trying to bring some spark off the bench - I look forward to it."
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