Broncos plan for future with Gillett

BRONCOS coach Wayne Bennett denied there were any long-term risks surrounding Matt Gillett’s neck injury after the back-rower was yesterday ruled out for the rest of the year.

After injuring his neck in Brisbane’s season-opening game, the Queensland and Australian star has not played since round five – after the discovery of the fracture.

Gillett was hopeful of returning ahead of this year’s finals campaign but scans earlier this week led the Broncos to rule him out for the remainder of the season.

Brisbane’s high-performance manager Jeremy Hickmans said the scans showed improvement but the club decided to make Gillett’s long-term welfare the priority.

The 29-year-old was signed last week to a new four-year deal, keeping him at Brisbane until the end of 2022.

Bennett said yesterday that the Broncos had no concerns over the longevity of the contract despite the ongoing nature of Gillett’s injury.

“There’s no suggestions there’s any long-term risk at all,” Bennett said. “We’re committed to the contract.

“The doctors have erred on the side of caution, it’s all progressing well. He’s in great shape so there’s no issues for him.

“The opinion was he’s probably better off waiting until next year to play again. We’re happy with that.

“He’s been sitting out for months now, so he probably wasn’t looking forward to coming back to play with only four or five games to go in the season.”

The other issue Gillett has had to face is a calf tear, with Hickmans saying the recovery from both injuries plus the time needed to prepare for a return to first grade means the secondrower will not be back before the finals.

Bennett said, however, the club would not feel the loss given they had been without Gillett for the majority of the season.

“We’ve lost him for most of the season so it’s not as big an impact as it would be if it was happening now,” Bennett said.

“We’ve managed to go on without Matt, as much as we’d like to have him. It’s not something that’s going to have an impact on us now.”

Gillett said he was disappointed with the call but knew it was the right decision.

“Footy is only a small part of life and other things are more important,” he said.

“Making sure I take the extra time sits fine with me.”