Brisbane have refuted a claim that Darius Boyd will step down from the captaincy after their humiliating NRL finals exit.

But club great Willie Carne wants Boyd to go one step further and retire to help the Broncos rebuild after Sunday’s 58-0 elimination final loss to Parramatta.

The Daily Telegraph reported Monday Boyd had “almost certainly captained the club for the last time”.

Brisbane on Monday said Boyd had no plans to relinquish the captaincy, with the veteran set to see out the final two years of his contract, reported to be worth $800,000-per-year.

Carne has called for Boyd to “take one for the team” and retire — allowing the club enough salary cap space to chase a star capable of fixing the club’s halves crisis.

The out-of-form five-eighth has already declared publicly he does not intend to leave the club before his contract expires.

Carne, a two-time premiership player, said No. 1 Anthony Milford must replace Boyd in the halves next year if the Broncos are any chance of ending their longest premiership drought and recapturing their glory days.

“They will need to fast track Darius into retirement,” Carne said.

“He might have to take one for the team.

“And fullback is not Anthony Milford’s position. He is either good enough in the halves or he isn’t (in the team).”

Veteran Broncos chief executive Paul White, who famously chased Craig Bellamy to coach the club before the extraordinary furore surrounding Anthony Seibold’s move from South Sydney, is also tipped to stand down.

Meanwhile, Broncos legend and board member Darren Lockyer recently identified star forward Matt Gillett as the man to replace Boyd.

“(Boyd) is signed for this year and next year,” Lockyer told Fairfax Media.

“Going to the frontline is where he will stay. What he wants to do beyond that, no one really knows.

“If Darius wasn’t there past next year, Matt Gillett’s probably the next in line (as captain).”

The news around Boyd and White comes after Seibold on Sunday promised to undertake a top-to-toe review after suffering their worst ever NRL loss in their embarrassing 58-0 flogging to Parramatta.

As the Broncos tumbled out of the finals at Bankwest Stadium on Sunday afternoon, so did a host of unwanted records for the six-time premiers. The result was not only the biggest loss in finals history — eclipsing Newtown’s 55-7 defeat of St George in 1944 — it was also the proud club’s worst ever defeat, shading their 56-0 loss to Canberra in 2009.

The club’s premiership drought is now in its 13th year, the longest in their 31-year history.

Asked about his post-game message to his players, Broncos coach Seibold said: “See ya Wednesday morning,” in what was a reference to their upcoming player reviews.

Seibold refused to mince his words, promising to take the blame for the loss.

“I’m just really disappointed, embarrassed,” Seibold said.

“I can’t toss up any excuses, I’ll wear it. I’m the coach of the club so I’ll take responsibility.

“It’s also my job to fix that. I’ll have a good look at things because in big games, that’s where the Broncos are at at the moment.”

Club legend and Queensland coach Kevin Walters said the loss to the Eels was “humiliating”.

“Very humiliating to be honest with you. It’s just disappointing for everyone who supports the Broncos,” Walters told Sky Sports Radio.

He also said the club has to make some tough decisions because they seem unlikely to improve with their current spine, which includes Boyd in the halves and Anthony Milford at fullback.

“I think it’s unfair for guys like David Fifita and Payne Haas to be carrying this club,” he said.

“That’s what’s happened in the last month of football. They’ve essentially picked the whole team up and dragged them over the line. It’s unfair to put that expectation on these kids.

“They’ve got to have a good look at themselves from the top down to see how they get better Is there any room in their cap to shuffle some players around?”

He said Milford’s move to the back was the wrong one.

“He’s a five-eighth every day of the week for mine,” he said.

“For them to pull him out, that was the start of their downfall.”

RAIDERS STAR’S ACT OF PURE CLASS

Canberra captain Jarrod Croker was spotted on Saturday night walking into the AAMI Stadium grandstand to celebrate with fans after his team’s impressive win over the Storm.

According to a report, the star centre spotted a fan in a wheelchair at the top of the first tier of seats and then walked up the stair to pose for photos with the man.

He also stripped off his shorts and handed them over to the lucky fan — the classy gesture did not go unnoticed by Raiders fans who gave their skipper another round of applause.

What a champ. Raiders captain @Jarrodcroker just ran up the stairs @AAMIPark to a gentleman in the crowd in a wheelchair, took his shorts off, gave them to him and posed for photos. @RaidersCanberra @NRLonNine @TripleM_NRL @Todd_Greenberg @Polstack pic.twitter.com/HK3ZgYbpMT — Peter Fitzgerald (@PeterFitzy) September 14, 2019

REAL REASON BURGESS LOST IT

There was a little more to Sam Burgess’ hair pull on Roosters rookie Billy Smith than first met the eye, according to The Sunday Telegraph.

The newspaper reported Burgess’ niggling tactics could have been the result of Smith’s link to the lewd photo scandal that engulfed Burgess and his family last year.

Burgess was cleared of any wrongdoing in the lewd photo scandal 12 months ago after a complaint was made by a woman alleging a Rabbitohs player exposed himself to her on Facebook last year.

According to The Telegraph, the woman at the centre of the lewd image storm is a close friend of Smith’s.

The Roosters star was reportedly even interviewed by the NRL Integrity Unit during its investigation into the lewd video allegations.

Smith was also found to have had no part in or knowledge of the incident.

Burgess’ hair pull in the final game of the season cost him a spot in the qualifying final against the Roosters on Friday night.

Burgess will be back for the Bunnies when they face Manly at ANZ Stadium on Friday night.