Darren Lockyer is one of the greatest players of all time, there is no doubt about that. He could retire today and he would have achieved more in his career than any current Rugby League player.
Right now though, his knee is giving him a lot of problems.
You find that most great players come to a point in their career where they have to face up to a major injury.
Fittler had major problems with his groin (Sniggers) and Johns had a knee and neck injury he delt with.
Even today you have Brent Tate who is playing with a neck injury that basically would have seen most other players retire years ago, Benji Marshall dealing with shoulder problems and Anthony Minichello and Robbie Farrah suffering similar back injuries.
Its got to be character building for these players, and I’m sure that with Lockyer being such an amazing competitor, he will get through this tough time.
When he is on the field, you can see Lockyer is only playing at about 60%. Even so, you can see the class in his passing and kicking game and the way his vision can open up the game for his team mates.
While he had taken is slowly this season, coming off the bench in some games and having to pull out of this weeks Test match, he is getting back slowly into the swing of things.
The problem with Lockyer is that he is now 31 and he is dealing with his first major injury a lot later than most players have to.
He also has a crap load of Super League clubs looking to make him a very rich(er) man that he has to consider, and its also something the Broncos must be thinking about.
Lockyer is one of the highest paid players in the NRL, and rightfully so. So do the Broncos accomodate his struggles only to see him leave in the next couple of years for England, or do they cut their losses, let him leave now and have a nice amount of salary cap space left to sign some other players?
Its a real crossroad for both Lockyer and the Broncos, but I think that the way both go about their business, they will stick it out and make sure Lockyer ends his NRL career on the field.
