Brisbane Broncos prop Martin Taupau has revealed he wants to continue his career into 2025 with the Brisbane Broncos.
The veteran forward, who missed a sizeable chunk of time through the middle of the season before returning to first grade in Round 17 against the New Zealand Warriors, has played every round off the bench since.
Named to continue that trend this weekend against the Canterbury Bulldogs in what is crunch time for the Broncos as they attempt to keep their finals hopes alive week on week, it will also serve to be Taupau's 250th game.
Speaking to the media on Thursday morning, Taupau said he has no intentions of finishing his career at the end of this season and would like to stay at the Broncos.
"I've invested a lot of time and money in keeping my body in good knick. People say I wind back the clock, but the clock hasn't stopped ticking. The only thing I can control is playing great football," he said.
The prop, who started his career at the Canterbury Bulldogs and also spent time at the Wests Tigers but is most well known for his 156 games at the Manly Sea Eagles between 2016 and 2022, moved to the Broncos at the start of 2023.
It came after he fell out of favour under former Manly coach Des Hasler, and he has now played 27 games for the Red Hill-based outfit.
He said the move was a risk that has ultimately paid off.
"Coming here to the Brisbane Broncos, it was definitely a risky move. However, without any risk, there is no reward, and this is one of my biggest rewards, playing my 250th game here at such an amazing club. The foundation, the history of this club is enormous in rugby league. I'm just really grateful that I get to play my 250th game, it's going to be a huge Suncorp Stadium crowd," he said.
The forward admitted his time out of first grade was a challenge, but that this weekend's game is as big a milestone as there is for him and his family.
"Yeah, it's a pretty huge milestone for myself and especially for my family as well. The last couple of months have been pretty tough in terms of not being able to play, and there are a few things in the background there, but I'm happy this milestone has come up," Taupau said.
"Prior to that [my NRL return], it was pretty hard. I just had to turn up for myself, train really hard and just be patient, wait for the opportunity to come, it was my first game back in a while and I felt like I didn't miss a heartbeat in that. I just had to do what I normally do, and what the Broncos brought me here to do - to lead from the front."