‘No stones unturned’: Why departing Bronco won’t think about Manly move … yet

This may be the final time he dons the Broncos’ colours, but Kobe Hetherington refuses to think about a future in which he no longer calls Brisbane home.

The son of former premiership-winning hooker, Jason Hetherington, is instead honing his focus on writing the wrongs of the club’s 2023 grand final failings, before he departs Red Hill for a new chapter with the Manly Sea Eagles.

Hetherington had long expressed his desire to remain, and appeared set to stay in the maroon and yellow for at least another year, before Manly came to the table with a four-year offer.

Kobe Hetherington charges into the Storm defence.Credit: Getty Images

He will be one of two departing Broncos who will get the chance to redeem their last grand final visit on Sunday, with Tyson Smoothy (Super League) keeping his place at the expense of cult hero Ben Talty to accommodate the return of Pat Carrigan from suspension.

Selwyn Cobbo (Dolphins) has been replaced on the wings and remains in the extended squad, as does Jock Madden (Tigers).

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But while Hetherington’s opportunity to shine as a starter will come in rival stripes, currently stuck behind Queensland Maroons lock Carrigan, every thought circling his mind is on lifting the Provan Summons Trophy.

“There will be no stones unturned, that’s for sure. I’ll go in flying, and I’ll put my best foot forward for this club,” Hetherington said.

“This club has given me so much, so the least I can do is go out with a bang. I don’t really want to talk about it [the Manly move] too much just yet, I’ve got a grand final to win, so my heart and soul is in the Broncos.

“It’s just about going out there and doing my job the best I can, I feel like if I do that and everyone does that we’ll be right. I’m not even thinking about next year to be honest, I’m just thinking about this grand final and how much I want to win.”

Hetherington – who from 2026 will contest with Manly skipper Jake Trbojevic for the No.13 jersey he covets – had a window to make himself the Broncos’ go-to lock, when coach Michael Maguire gave him his shot while moving Carrigan to the front row.

But after Brisbane’s round 13 humbling – ironically against the Sea Eagles – ‘Madge’ pulled the trigger, moving his State of Origin champion back to his preferred position, and Hetherington to his customary role off the bench.

Since that shift, the Broncos have lost just two of 14 games en route to Sunday’s decisive clash with the Melbourne Storm – including their preliminary final triumph of the Panthers at the death. 

While a theme for the Broncos since their gut-wrenching defeat to Penrith two years ago has been to shut down talk of redemption, Hetherington admits the loss still burns.

“It hurt, it still hurts us today,” he said, “[but] we know how it feels to lose the grand final.”

But this is a different breed of Broncos, Hetherington stressed, crediting assistant coach and former Maroons enforcer Ben Te’o for instilling a hard edge in the club’s defence, which went missing in last year’s free fall down the ladder.

“You’ve seen how Benny used to whack them back in the day, he’s trying to bring that into us,” Hetherington said.

“That connection, hitting together and that first contact with line speed - he’s bringing all of that back to the Broncs.”

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That change will need to come to the fore once again come Sunday afternoon if Hetherington is to follow his dad – who tasted grand final success once from three attempts with the Bulldogs – into premiership folklore.

“I was just talking about it [Sunday] night, it’ll be [five] grand finals between us, and he’s won one, so I’ve got to get one back on him,” Hetherington laughed.

“It’s pretty special, and it was good to have dad there for that win [against Penrith], and it’ll be really good to have him at the grand final too.”

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