He burst on to the NRL scene with high expectations in the final round of 2023.
Yet by mid-season in 2025, it was beginning to feel Blake Mozer may never get the chance to fulfil what many saw as his apparent destiny to become the next star Brisbane Broncos number nine.
Struggling with injuries and stuck in Q Cup behind a log-jam of hooker options that included Ben Hunt, Cory Paix, Tyson Smoothy and Billy Walters, at best it seemed the former Australian Schoolboy and Queensland Under-19 captain would be asked to bide his time on a loan stint with an NRL rival in 2026.
That became an even more likely scenario when Mozer was re-signed to a two-year contract extension by the Broncos in July, followed by Paix also being extended earlier this month—just as the game’s biggest club went on a late-season tear under coach Michael Maguire.
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Fast forward to week one of the NRL finals, however, and it’s all change at Broncos station.
With Smoothy off to Super League and club favourite Billy Walters succumbing to a heart-breaking ACL injury against the Canberra Raiders that is set to rule him out until deep into the 2026 season, Mozer’s stock has suddenly risen sharply.
Throw in the fact that star utility Ben Hunt will be turning 36 next March, and almost overnight the highly touted 21-year-old no longer seems excess to requirements at Red Hill and may get the chance to add to his nine-match Broncos career far earlier than expected.
Such are the sliding doors moments of professional sport, one player’s loss is another’s gain.
Perhaps 2026 is the year Mozer will finally get the chance to breakthrough as a Bronco after all.