The sight of Brodie Croft in tears following a defeat during Brisbane's miserable 2020 NRL campaign appeared to reflect a young man buckling under the weight of expectation.
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Brought to Red Hill from Melbourne at the end of 2019, Croft was talked up as the man to fill the Broncos No.7 jersey for a decade.
Such was the belief from coach Anthony Seibold, Croft was named co-captain for his Broncos debut in the season opener against North Queensland.
By the end of the campaign, Croft was out of the team and Seibold was out of the club.
Some were wondering if new coach Kevin Walters would keep on the 23-year-old, with teenager Tom Dearden having finished the season as the club's starting halfback.
Croft however is adamant the external spotlight was not proving too bright and he had handled the pressure just fine.
"That's easy to say from the outside in but from the inside out I didn't feel that way," Croft said.
"I was confident my own ability. I still am confident in my own ability.
"I know my strengths. I know what I need to work on. Haven't lost faith in myself and what I'm capable of doing on the football field.
"There was a lot going on but I've reset this off-season, refreshed and thought about what I've done well this last year, what I didn't do so well, what I need to work on this coming year and go from there."
Croft also has no issue with going from the golden boy in his first pre-season at Brisbane to fighting to prove himself for a starting role ahead of 19-year-old Dearden.
"It's a great battle," he said.
"Competition for spots is always great.
"It betters yourself as a player and if you're getting better as a player you're going to better the team as well.
"We're pushing ourselves, pushing each other and I'm really enjoying it."
Australian Associated Press
