Anyone talking down Anthony Milford's first month at the Brisbane Broncos will soon be gorging on their own words.
That's the opinion of teammate Lachlan Maranta, who has backed Brisbane's big-name recruit to prove his doubters wrong.
The 20-year-old is yet to cross the chalk, make a line-break or directly assist a try after four games in Broncos colours - amplifying pre-season criticism of Wayne Bennett's decision to shift him from fullback to five-eighth.
Maranta won't hear any of it, having watched up close just what Milford is capable of producing.
"We've seen it in pre-season at training," Maranta said.
"Sometimes you just step back and say 'wow'.
"He's almost through that gap and when he does everyone's going to get off his back a little bit and he'll be the Milford everyone remembers."
Maranta has scored four tries this year and credits Milford's work at pivot for contributing to Brisbane's slick attacking play.
"To be honest, I don't think he's going that bad at the moment," he said.
"He's moving the ball well, (the outside backs) are benefiting from that and his defence has been one of his best assets.
"He's still young, he's got a mature head on him and he knows he doesn't need to be scoring the tries as long as he's setting them up.
"That's his job and we're really appreciating what he's doing."
Meanwhile, Broncos skipper Justin Hodges will be replaced by Dale Copley for Friday night's derby against the Gold Coast Titans at cBus Super Stadium.
Hodges injured his hamstring in Brisbane's win over the New Zealand Warriors and is expected to be sidelined for two weeks.
Copley played in the Queensland Cup over the weekend, marking his return from a minor calf problem suffered a fortnight ago, and will slot into Hodges' position at right centre.
"It's never ideal to lose your captain. He's one of our best players," Copley said.
"I've just got to step in there, do as best I can, do my role for the team - that's all I can do."
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