By his own admission, nothing could have prepared Ivan Henjak for his NRL coaching initiation as the man who replaced guru Wayne Bennett at the Broncos.

"I think Ivan had four seasons in one," says skipper Darren Lockyer, summing up Henjak's emotional rollercoaster in his first season.

If 2009 was tough then 2010 promises to test Henjak further with a number of key decisions looming as he tries to extend the club's amazing record of playing in the last 19 final series.

Losing Karmichael Hunt following the Test fullback's shock signing to Australian Rules was bad enough.

But losing fellow young star Dave Taylor to South Sydney was a hit Henjak didn't need, especially after the club cut former Test prop Joel Clinton.

If those two losses didn't have Henjak cursing, then a training mishap in January that has sidelined international Justin Hodges (ruptured Achilles) for the majority of the season, and a knee injury to young wing sensation Jharal Yow Yeh (10 weeks) surely would have.

Henjak has to find a new fullback but, as Lockyer said, you don't just replace a Karmichael Hunt.

However, there are a number of exciting options including youngsters Josh Hoffman, Corey Norman - a talented kid from Redcliffe who some believe has the skills to one day replace Lockyer - Dale Copley, who like Hunt made his first grade debut at the tender age of 17, and prodigal son Denan Kemp, back after a forgettable season with the Warriors in 2009.

It's a different story in the engine room.

Nick Kenny will lead the way at prop and his front row partner is likely to be new dad Ashton Sims with back-up from former Melbourne Storm forward Scott Anderson and Josh McGuire.

Keep an eye out for beefy young prop Dave Hala and Mitchell Dodds and for Matt Gillett, a hard running young back-rower who may be a smokey if he gets an early opportunity.

Surprisingly, Lockyer's looming decision on whether to end his representative future is not a big deal to Henjak given the addition of former Parramatta halfback Tim Smith in the mix and with the development of young gun Ben Hunt.

"A lot of people are making a lot of noise about it but I'm not particularly worried about it," says Henjak.

"If he doesn't play (rep football) I'm really happy for us, but if he does, I'm really happy for him too.

"If you'd asked me the same question last year, I'd be saying `geez, I hope Locky doesn't play rep football'.

"But I feel a lot more comfortable about where we are with Tim Smith and Ben Hunt and Corey Norman can play there as well."

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