Brisbane centre Kotoni Staggs has declared it hunting season ahead of a make-or-break clash with St George Illawarra to keep his side's NRL finals hopes alive.
The Broncos, in ninth position on 28 points, must beat the Dragons at Kogarah on Saturday night and hope eighth-placed Canberra lose to Wests Tigers at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday to make the finals.
NRL statistics reveal in the first 15 games Staggs played this season he made 10 line breaks and scored five tries. In his last seven games the 23-year-old has not scored and has not made a line break.
Those numbers are reflective of the Broncos' late-season slide from fourth to ninth in just five rounds and aren't simply a summation of how Staggs has played, but he intends to do something about it.
"If the ball doesn't come to me I have to go hunting for it. If it does I have to do what I can do," he said.
"I would love to get my hands on the ball a little bit more. That is up to me as well.
"It is not just on me. We have all got a job to do. For myself I can go out and start the game really well and try and lift some of my players to do their job."
Staggs was superb in Brisbane's 32-18 win over the Dragons in round 17 where he scored a double, made three line breaks and ran for 136m.
It is the kind of form he knows he and the team must replicate
"This is a massive game for us. This is basically our grand final and we have to play with everything we have got," he said.
"I think we can win this game. Miracles happen as well. We've just got to focus on doing our job and the other games will take care of themselves."
While the form of the Broncos has fallen off a cliff in the last month, Staggs said it wasn't all doom and gloom after Brisbane claimed the wooden spoon in 2020 and came 14th last year.
"We didn't want to put ourselves in this position but we've got to take away the things we have achieved this year. We have done a lot as a group," he said.
"I don't want to be all negative on us. We have done better than previous years. We have won the most games the club has won since (2018).
"I was there in the dark times and it wasn't good. This year we still have a young group and all the boys are willing to learn every week.
"The performances we have been dishing up at the back end of this year is not where we want it to be. We need to fix that as a collective. It is all on the line."
Staggs missed most of last year due to an ACL injury and has shown resilience on a personal level.
"I have played nearly every game this year and rep games (for NSW and Tonga) as well," he said.
"That is a big credit to myself. My body has been pulling up really well."
