“He’ll have to toughen up a lot before he’ll be a forward.''

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When Corey Oates asked Wayne Bennett to move him back into the second-row, the Brisbane coach delivered him that blunt message.

Now after a three-year selection collision course, Bennett has finally granted the winger his one wish.

Oates has been spotted training on the left edge for Brisbane, with Channel Seven reporting the versatile giant will be given first shot in the back-row during the opening rounds of the 2018 season.

He played in the forwards up until 2015 when Bennett began to experiment, turning Brisbane's second-fastest player over 40m into a try-scoring machine out wide.

It even earned him four Maroons appearances where he managed to put two tries on the board.

In his debut season at Red Hill, Oates crossed over for eight tries in nine matches on the edge and won the Broncos' Rookie of the Year award, also being named in the NYC Team of the Year in the scrum.

With Australian and Queensland representative Matt Gillett playing a full-time role in the no.12 jersey, Bennett's change of heart means Alex Glenn will likely see more minutes from the bench.





It's the second major change to their forward pack structure following the announcement Matt Lodge will head the pack with Korbin Sims in the front-row in the absence of Adam Blair.