The 2008 NRL season was tough both mentally and physically for Brisbane prop Joel Clinton.

Replacing one of the Broncos' all-time great players, Petero Civoniceva, was never going to be easy for the former Penrith forward.

While Civoniceva, who swapped places with Clinton and joined the Panthers where he produced an outstanding year for a struggling team, knee and shoulder injuries and stringent skin fold testing, which saw him drop 6kg, undermined Clinton's efforts to make a similar impact for the Broncos.

Penrith won an NRL premiership in 2003 on the back of Clinton's Rhino-like charges and he was good enough to play Test football in 2004 at the age of 23 - just two years after making his NRL debut.

At times Clinton battled the expectation of replacing a player of Civoniceva's class and popularity and he admits he put himself under too much pressure by coming back too soon from his early-season knee injury.

Clinton went overboard with the club's skin fold testing, eating like a "pigeon" and dropping from 108kg to 102kg which detracted from his style of play.

But the former Penrith junior has bulked up again to 109kg, a weight he believes will see him recapture his premiership-winning form.

Clinton and Nick Kenny, who's also put on several kilograms, are early favourites to start the season in the front-row for the Broncos.

"When I was playing my game I was a lot heavier," said Clinton after another torture session in the heat on Tuesday.

"It suits my game to be heavier. The running style I have I need the extra weight. I'm really pumped about putting the weight and size back on.

"It was a bit daunting coming to Brisbane last year and then having the issues with my knee.

"I pushed it too much and played a bit earlier and then it was in the back of my mind that it wasn't quite right.

"It wasn't the start I was looking for to be honest."

Having lost Civoniceva in 2008 and Ben Hannant and hooker Michael Ennis this season, Brisbane will field a new-look front-row in 2009.

They've been so dominant over the years with the likes of Andrew Gee, Glenn Lazarus, Shane Webcke and Civoniceva, but new coach Ivan Henjak isn't concerned they'll come up short in the engine room.

"I'm encouraged with our front-row stocks and the healthy competition we've got going," said Henjak.

"Nick Kenny and Joel Clinton have put on some extra beef and held their condition and speed and some of the under-20 players are not looking too much out of place."

Henjak said Clinton started the season behind the hit ball last year because of his knee injury.

"We are also pretty strict on skin folds," he said.

"He had to get that down and lost a lot of weight which he struggled to put back on.

"He's getting up near 110kg and looking strong again."

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