McCullough brushes off Cook talk with Wolf of Wall Street quote

Andrew McCullough has channelled Leonardo DiCaprio to brush off media reports Brisbane are chasing the signature of South Sydney star Damien Cook.

McCullough returned to pre-season training on Thursday where he was quizzed on the issue.

Broncos sources have told NRL.com that Cook is not on their radar.

McCullough, signed at Brisbane until the end of 2021, said he did not feel the need to seek any clarification from the club about his future. He said he had "dealt with this before" when Cameron Smith was on the cusp of accepting an offer from the Broncos.

During those negotiations the "Smith to Broncos" story was a dominant narrative in Brisbane media for weeks.

McCullough, a movie buff, had a chuckle and quoted DiCaprio in his role as the notorious former stockbroker Jordan Belfort when asked for his response to the Cook issue.

"I've dealt with bigger things in my life than worrying about that. I've got another three years here. As Leonardo DiCaprio said in The Wolf of Wall Street ... 'I’m not leaving'," McCullough said.

"[The speculation] is probably a blessing in disguise for me.

"I've turned up [to pre-season] in one of the best shapes I have been. I bounced back from an ACL last year and people don’t understand I missed three-quarters of the pre-season.

"It is just good to be out their running and fully fit."

McCullough's stocks have been on the rise at the Broncos since he made his NRL debut in 2008. He has played 236 games for Brisbane and is on track to become the youngest Bronco to notch 300 first-grade games by the end of his current tenure.

As Leonardo DiCaprio said in The Wolf of Wall Street ... 'I’m not leaving'

Brisbane hooker Andrew McCullough

He conceded that landmark was a long way off, but is energised for the coming pre-season after putting the ACL  injury he suffered in 2017 behind him.

"I was looking back at old photos of when I was running and I wasn't out on the field until January or February so that only gave me a month or two until round one," McCullough said.

"I’ve been doing plenty of running in this off-season so I am a big step ahead of where I was last year, so that has given me a lot of confidence.

"I've turned up day one in good shape. When I’ve done that I’ve had my better years. It starts today. I have a few goals in my head that I want to achieve. They are small but they build into a bigger goal overall."

McCullough said the loss of Josh McGuire to the Cowboys would be felt by Brisbane in the lock position.

Tevita Pangai jnr is one of the favourites to step into the role but McCullough said the Tongan international still had work to do on his game to fill the breach.

"It was the same when Corey [Parker] left, and the list goes on from there. Someone has got to put their hand up," McCullough said.

"Playing in the middle requires a lot of minutes and back-to-back efforts. [Pangai's] got a lot of work to do on that certainly. That will take time.

"Josh is not a Queensland and Australian forward for no reason. He competed very hard and was an aggressive sort of guy you love playing with…but someone now has got an opportunity."