Darren Lockyer says Josh Hoffman, Ben Hunt and Josh McGuire are the future of the Brisbane Broncos Josh Hoffman will be out to prove he belongs at fullback for the Broncos, says Darren Lockyer. THE taste left in peoples mouths about the Broncos season will be determined by how they finish the next five weeks. Brisbane have 19 points and five wins out from the last five rounds would probably get them in the finals, although they are four points behind eighth-placed Newcastle. The Knights also have a better points differential than the Broncos do. If the Broncos, a club with a history of making the finals, make the top eight from here, it's a big achievement. If they are inconsistent and below-par in the coming weeks after a win over North Queensland and a draw against Newcastle, the fans won't be as happy. The year is now about building on what Josh Hoffman is doing at fullback, what Ben Hunt is doing at halfback and how Josh McGuire can build his form and experience. These guys are potentially the future of the club. The way it's panned out Josh Hoffman has been one of Brisbane's best since he was moved to the fullback position two weeks ago. The Broncos are linked to moves for two men playing fullback at other clubs, Ben Barba and Anthony Milford, but the current New Zealand fullback will be out to play a big game again tomorrow. Josh scored 14 tries playing off the left wing, but what you often find is wingers like the idea of playing fullback because they get their hands on the ball more there. Fullback will be his preferred position again next year, but Hoffy is a team-oriented player. The experiment the Broncos are conducting at the moment is spending some time with Justin Hodges at fullback and Hoffman right centre. So there is no reason why he couldn't rotate between wing and centre, should the Broncos pick up a fullback for 2014. Hoffman is a great defensive and positional fullback and has a low mistake rate. He has cleaned up balls on the ground with some big collisions, playing with physical courage in the last couple of weeks. In attack, he has given his side some good starts to their sets in his kick returns. He's good at finding opportunities off his forwards. Towards the end of Corey Norman's time at fullback, teams were anticipating his plays out the back. It became easy for the opposition to pick off once they knew it was coming. Hoffman is more of a runner and unpredictable and we were lacking his presence around the middle of the park in the way he pushes forward with his big men. This is also Ben Hunt's best opportunity to make a case for a long run as a Broncos starter. The past two weeks, the club would have looked at his performances and wondered if they do need a new No.6 or No.7. Against the Cowboys, he had a great 40 minutes and was unable to sustain it. Against Newcastle last Friday, he had a very good 65 minutes. When Newcastle pressed hard in the last 10 minutes of their game last week, The right tactic would've been for the Broncos kickers to find the sidelines at some point and get a stoppage because the players were out on their feet. Ben will learn over time how to close a game out. A few weeks ago, it was pretty much Justin Hodges or it was nothing when it came to a line break. Ben Hunt is willing to take a chance and he's a good fit for the Broncos, who were at the place on the ladder where they needed to take a chance. Brisbane need to sustain an 80-minute performance tomorrow against St George Illawarra at Suncorp Stadium. The Broncos will relish having a rare Sunday afternoon home game with the atmosphere these games generate. The danger for the Broncos comes from St George Illawarra's back three, Josh Dugan, Brett Morris and Jason Nightingale. You have to give Josh Dugan credit for how he has played for the Dragons and Blues since he changed club. The Raiders did him a favour because it gave him a reality check.