Brisbane will welcome back tough-as-teak forward Kobe Hetherington against Gold Coast, a player captain Adam Reynolds has likened to a cattle dog for the mongrel he brings to the side.
The 24-year-old ruptured his biceps in the gym doing weighted chin-ups in December. He will replace prop Tom Flegler (concussion) at Robina on Saturday night after playing two games in the Queensland Cup to build up match fitness.
Asked what Hetherington would bring to the side after their disappointing 20-14 loss to Canberra last time out, Reynolds said "a bit of mongrel".
"Kobe has got a bit of that fight in him like a cattle dog and just keeps going," the skipper said.
"He has been putting on a few shots at training and letting the coaches know he is ready to get back in.
"He has thoroughly earned that spot and knows what it takes to be at the top of his game."
Hetherington remains a fan-favourite at the Broncos for his loyalty and his playing style.
He fielded interest from seven clubs, including Melbourne and Cronulla, when last November he knocked back bigger money to re-sign with the Broncos until 2025.
He was the club's rookie of the year in 2021 before a breakout season in 2022 in which he played 22 games and became a regular member of the top 17.
Hetherington's father, former Queensland Maroons and Canterbury hooker Jason Hetherington, came back from four shoulder reconstructions, including a dislocation in 1999 that kept him out for nine months.
Jason told AAP his son, who played five-eighth and hooker until the age of 20, had taken the positives from his experience and was ready to fire.
"Injuries are frustrating but I said to him that he would learn a lot of lessons from it," Jason Hetherington said.
"When you are trying to get back on the field there are no short cuts. You've got to eat and train exactly how you have to and he did that.
"It is a lonely sport when you are injured and isolated in a room while everyone else is having a laugh on the football field.
"It is zero or a hundred with Kobe. He has always been like that. There is no middle gear and he has been champing at the bit to get back."
The older Hetherington also agreed with Reynolds' 'cattle dog' call.
"Kobe has got a bit of mongrel in him and you need that," he said.
"He will bring energy and starch in the middle."
