Carrigan and Broncos primed for Sydney 'business trip'

The Broncos are set for what coach Anthony Seibold has called "a business trip" against the Bulldogs in Sydney on Saturday night and he has a "favourite" in Pat Carrigan ready to get the job done.

With Brisbane having a one-from-four record in Sydney this year, Seibold said Canterbury would provide a big test of his side's credentials.

The Broncos are without Joe Ofahengaue (calf) and Tevita Pangai jnr (suspended) so Carrigan will again wear the number 13 jersey, as he did last week with distinction in the 17-16 golden point win over the Eels.

The rise of the 21-year-old has coincided with the Broncos late-season surge. Seibold knows he can rely on Carrigan.

"He is a bit of a favourite of mine, Pat. He has a great work ethic and is a very humble and hard-working guy," Seibold said.

"He has got great leadership qualities for such a young guy and deserves the number 13 jersey for this game.

"He has progressed probably a little bit quicker than what we thought. I like guys who work hard and I like guys who you know what you are going to get. Patty is a seven out of 10 every day at training and in every single game so far."

Seibiold wants to have tough decisions to make at the selection table and Carrigan will ensure he has them.

“There is competition for that position. We have still got Joe Ofahengaue and Tevita Pangai out, who are big outs for us because they are big bodies and they both play 13 for us," he said.

"One thing I know about Pat is that he has a high work rate, great leadership qualities and he is tough. He will be competing for that jersey in the short and long term."

Brisbane, in seventh position on the Telstra Premiership ladder, will play finals football with a win and will make the play-offs with a loss unless Wests Tigers and Cronulla draw on Sunday.

The finals are close but won't be a focus for Seibold until the job is done against the Bulldogs.

"We will keep getting better but if you start planning for down the track you lose sight of the next job. Our next job is to go down there and get the business done," Seibold said.

"We are going down there for a business trip. We are not going down there for a holiday or to look ahead to two or three week's time.

"I know I keep bringing it back to this week's game but that is what you need to do with young men. We don't want to go into Sunday not having destiny in our own hands."

The destiny of Brisbane's young stars continues to be a hot topic and that was escalated by Titans performance and culture chief Mal Meninga telling Titans members in a newsletter that the club would go after David Fifita, who is off-contract at the end of 2020.

Keeping his young squad together will be a challenge for Seibold but he remains confident the club will not lose any players they want to keep.

"There will be some challenges with regards to other teams being interested in those young players.

"One thing I believe the club does well is that there is a really strong retention committee that organises the salary cap very effectively. We will keep the players that we want to keep," Seibold said.

"There may be some players that may get better offers and decide they want to do down the track but at the moment, like you’ve seen, every player that has come off contract we have been able to keep.

"I am confident in keeping David [Fifita] and he has another year here to run on his contract."