Brenko dodges a 9-to-5 future

BRENKO Lee admits he thought he might have to consider a “normal job” during his almost four-month exile from the NRL.

Titans senior coach Craig Hodges felt the team needed some enthusiasm and desperation in their top 17 and Lee certainly ticked those boxes as he tries to prove there is life in his first-grade career.

The 38-18 loss to the Storm yesterday marked the centre’s 50th NRL game and he got off to the perfect start, pouncing on a loose Cameron Smith pass to open the scoring in the second minute.

It was the kind of effort Hodges was searching for, with Lee pushing up in the defensive line to give himself a chance of being in the right place at the right time.

The game gradually went Melbourne’s way but the offcontract 23-year-old hopes he has done enough to keep pushing for a spot in Gold Coast’s 2020 roster.

“We don’t want to finish last so everything we do is desperate. The whole club is under review and not everyone is guaranteed a position,” he said.

“I come off-contract again this year so every game I play is like my last.”

Having played the first two NRL matches of the year on the wing, Lee said doubts had begun to creep in while he was stuck in the Intrust Super Cup.

“You start thinking, am I a rugby league player or do I need to find a normal job?” he said. “You go through thoughts like that but at the end of the day things happen for a reason and that’s that and I’m just trying to look forward and be positive and know what I need to work on.”

Asked what he would be if

YOU START THINKING: DO I NEED TO FIND A NORMAL JOB? BRENKO LEE

he wasn’t a footy player, Lee added: “That’s a good question.

“My whole life has been this. Obviously I made my debut when I was 18 and I moved to Canberra when I was 16; I’m 23 and this is all I’ve really known.”