Darren Lockyer says Brisbane Broncos should give Josh Hoffman a Nathan Blacklock-style free role Darren Lockyer says Josh Hoffman should be freed up to continue his try-scoring exploits for the Broncos. THE Broncos greatest five-eighth says Josh Hoffman should be handed a Nathan Blacklock-like licence in 2014 so the Broncos have the best of both worlds. Hoffman has been mooted as a potential five-eighth for the Broncos but Darren Lockyer was not sold on that idea and said the in-form custodian was better suited to a position that enabled his running game to shine. Hoffman is set to be the major casualty if the Broncos recruit star Canterbury fullback Ben Barba, who wants to follow his daughters north to Brisbane. When in-form, reigning Dally M Medallist Barba is the best attacking weapon in the game and would be an automatic selection in the Broncos" No.1 jersey. However, Hoffman has been in stunning form since being switched to fullback following the axing of Corey Norman. In four games, Hoffman has ran for 611 metres at an average of 152 per game. In his man of the match performance against the Parramatta Eels last week he busted an amazing 12 tackles. Instead of letting him catch a cold on the wing in 2014, Lockyer said a Blacklock licence should be handed to the 25-year-old. Blacklock was a try-scoring freak for St George in late 90"s and early 2000"s and often acted as a second fullback, hunting around the forwards for off-loads. He scored more than 20 tries in four consecutive seasons and played for twice for Australia but never represented New South Wales. "I think you could put him on the wing but give him a Nathan Blacklock type of role where he can pop up in the backline," Lockyer said. Nathan Blacklock was a try-scoring machine for the Dragons. This is only if Barba does come to Brisbane, which I don't have any insight into, but I think you need to maximise Hoffman's running game. That's what he's best and you don't want that lost. He could also be a natural replacement for Justin Hodges in right centre. I haven't seen Josh play or train at five eighth so I'm not sure how he would go there. While I went from fullback to five eighth, the thing with me is I started my life in rugby league in the halves. All my junior footy was in the halves so I had that base there. Broncos coach Anthony Griffin had given now injured centre Justin Hodges a roving commission in the back half of this year. Once Norman was dropped and Hoffman shifted to the back, Hodges became defacto custodian once the Broncos were in their opposition's half. Lockyer said while Hoffman had been outstanding in recent weeks, his utility value would ultimately count against him in a positional showdown with Barba. "The thing going against Hoffy is his utility value," Lockyer said. Ben is pretty much a fullback where as Hoffy can play centre, wing and fullback.