Brisbane have left captain Darren Lockyer out of their squad to travel to Auckland on Wednesday to play the Warriors in a key NRL match on Friday night.

There'd been speculation Lockyer would rush back from a rib injury to play for the Broncos, who've lost their past two games against Parramatta and Newcastle without him.

But the 33-year-old five-eighth was not included in a 19-man squad named on Tuesday by coach Ivan Henjak.

Henjak named a five-man bench which includes utility Ben Hunt and four props - Josh McGuire, Mitchell Dodds, Scott Anderson and Nick Kenny - in anticipation of a torrid clash.

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