Herbert taking every chance in championship blockbuster

If you see the chance, you go for it. 

It sounds simple enough, but it wasn't exactly happening that way for Brisbane Red halfback Hayden Herbert even at the start of what has been an outstanding 2023 so far.

The crafty No.7 has steered Bulimba into touching distance of the top of the BRL ladder and part of it is down to the faith shown in him to play at this next level - Saturday's XXXX League Championship semi-final.

But it doesn't come without the hard yards, and the load was getting heavy mixing club duties with a Brisbane Tigers preseason.

While it rammed home the importance of execution in pressure moments, it was also draining and challenging.

"I think it was, I don't know, I just wasn't enjoying my footy at the start of the year because of a long preseason," Herbert said.

"Then once footy came around I was a bit stuffed, but then load at training went down, I was fresher on the weekends and that helps a lot, and just my preparation now is a lot better.

"(I do) a bigger session at the start of the week with skills and a bit of extras, but on our captain's run it's more attention to detail."

Opponents have since seen the ominous seeds sprouting a commanding presence in the BRL and in Brisbane Red's XXXX Chairman's Challenge victory.

“It’s just little opportunities throughout the games and seeing them more clearly… and not be scared to take that opportunity," Herbert said.

“And if you’re not executing, you’re not doing it a training. So it all starts with training. If you’re executing it at training it just comes like natural on the field. 

“Communication this year for me is better and playing eyes up footy is a thing that I've tried to work on in the offseason and preseason and it helps a lot identifying what is happening in front of you."

Brisbane Red coach Darren Ferricks is the key driver of the culture helping them thrive, Herbert said, leading to the understanding they have to show off in Toowoomba.

It only took a few hours and Herbert said everyone felt on the same page.

"It's the way we have like early in the week we have like team bonding where everyone, like sort of says a bit about their life and you know, talks about where they want to be, what they want to do for Brisbane," Ferricks said.

"So everyone gets around that and when we come to training at a midweek session, on a Wednesday, everyone sort of knows each other's names and it's just a lot easier, to be around a Brisbane team where everyone knows each other's names and you're not just walking in blind."

Coming together has his full focus – what Toowoomba brings is what it is.

“I'm sort of a person that doesn't really worry about who they have or what they’ve got," Herbert said.

“If we put in our best performance, we're hard to beat.

“That's just how I go about it.

“And I guess it's the coach's job to identify if they run different shape or, you know, unusual shape.

“But to be honest with you, everyone runs similar shape.

“It's just a matter of identifying who's running where, but focusing on our performance is key.”

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