Far from running on empty
ALEX Glenn never imagined his first game as Broncos captain would be in front of an empty Suncorp Stadium.
Regardless, the 31-year-old admits emotions will still be running high.
The former Gold Coast schoolboy joins an illustrious list of Brisbane captains – players such as Darren Lockyer, Wally Lewis and Gorden Tallis – when he takes the reins for the first time in 2020 against the Eels at Suncorp tonight.
The 259-game Brisbane veteran was announced as the club captain earlier this year but a hamstring injury robbed him of that chance in the opening two rounds.
Tonight, he will become the 11th formal captain of the Broncos and first non-Queensland product to lead the team in the club’s 32-year history.
The New Zealand-born back-rower said he would never consider himself on the same level as Lockyer or Lewis but the history books will show he now holds one of the most prestigious positions in Queensland sport.
“It’s quite surreal,” Glenn said. “I’d never put myself up on the Locky or Wally Lewis level because in my heart those guys are legends to me.
“They laid the foundations for the Brisbane Broncos today.
“It’s surreal (that) I’m going to be a person to lead those boys out on to our home turf.
“I know I’ve done it before but to be the official club captain, it means so much more.
“I’ll be fighting so many emotions when I run out, even though it will be different with no crowds or my family there.”
The coronavirus pandemic has forced Suncorp Stadium to close its doors to the public, leaving Glenn to celebrate the feat in front of a sea of empty seats.