THE forward pack and halves have been in the firing line but Broncos coach Wayne Bennett has revealed the major mistake he made prior to his side’s round one loss to the Dragons.

Brisbane are preparing for Friday night’s blockbuster Queensland derby with the Cowboys from the unfamiliar position of last place on the NRL ladder.

It’s caused many to undertake a complete autopsy on the Broncos’ finals chances after just 80 minutes of football and elicited a furious spray by their coach on Monday, a tirade he downplayed on Thursday morning.

Adamant his halves combination — or any halves pairing for that matter — cannot compete when a host of errors are compounded by penalties, Bennett conceded that starting Sam Thaiday in place of Andrew McCullough was a mistake.

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McCullough was making his comeback from the ACL injury that ended his 2017 season prematurely but will start against the Cowboys and play 80 minutes if he is physically able.

“He’s been pretty good Sam. He had a tough assignment last week. I made a mistake in putting him at hooker,” Bennett said.

Sam Thaiday struggled at dummy half after being thrust into the hooking role last Thursday. Photo: Mark Kolbe

When pressed on why he considered it an error of judgment on his part, Bennett simply said, “In hindsight it was a mistake. It was just a mistake.”

Thaiday’s unfamiliar role made for a clunky opening to Brisbane’s 2018 premiership campaign and got them on the back foot from the outset.

His delivery from dummy half contributed to a number of errors early in sets and further highlighted the value McCullough brings to the team.

“He is important, he’s very important and it’s good to have him back,” Bennett said of McCullough, the 2017 Broncos player of the year.

Andrew McCullough returns to the starting side for Friday’s blockbuster against the Cowboys. Photo: Glenn Hunt

“We’ll have to wait and see on that (whether he plays 80 minutes).

“It depends on the intensity of the game but he’ll be starting and we’ll go from there.”

The partnership between Anthony Milford and Kodi Nikorima has also been placed under the spotlight this week and Bennett said it is reliant on both playing their roles in order for the team to function.

“It’s an effort between both those players. One’s got to get a backline working and the other one has got to get his forwards working,” said Bennett.

“There’s a lot of shared responsibility there as well.

“They’ve both got a shared responsibility out there and it needs both of them to do it.

“It’s not a one-man band.

“You can’t drop eight balls and give away eight penalties virtually on top of that and think your halves are going to play well.

“It’s never going to happen.”

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