Hooker keen to take over captaincy

BRISBANE hooker Jake Turpin has thrown his hat in the ring for the Broncos captaincy as the NRL’s richest club begins preparing for life without skipper Alex Glenn.

Brisbane’s first-choice skipper for the past two seasons, the retiring Glenn will draw the curtain on his glittering career with his 285th and final game for Brisbane in Saturday afternoon’s clash with Newcastle at Suncorp Stadium.

Glenn’s impending departure will leave a leadership void at Red Hill, with Turpin (pictured), Pat Carrigan, Payne Haas and Souths import Adam Reynolds among those being considered for the captaincy.

Turpin had his captaincy debut this year, filling in three times when Glenn was out injured, and says he would relish the prospect of emulating club legends such as Darren Lockyer, Allan Langer and Gorden Tallis by becoming full-time captain.

“It would be a massive honour,” Turpin said ahead of Brisbane’s clash against the Knights. “Whether I’m captain or not, it’s not something I’m not going to think too much about, I just want to be a leader anyway in this team.

“The captaincy is something I liked doing throughout this year.

“Even when I had to step up in the role, I was filling the role for ‘Lexi’ (Glenn), but I definitely like being a leader in this team. “It (Brisbane’s next captain) is a long way down the track. If anything happens, I would be honoured.”

Turpin has been Brisbane’s midfield rock this season, amassing 875 tackles at an average of 41 per game, but the former Storm rake admits he needs to get more creative around the rucks to cement the No.9 jumper.