was taken by 17-year-old Karmichael Hunt. Lockyer gained some negative media attention at the start of the 2004 NRL season when he made a careless joke about the Bulldogs' gang rape allegation at a Queensland sports function. Being the Australian captain, Lockyer was rebuked by national officials and quickly apologised for the comment. Despite Lockyer's lack of experience as a five-eighth, he was picked in the position for Queensland (for the final 2 games of the series, after missing Game 1 through injury) and Australia, and remained as captain of both teams. Brisbane again had a great regular season, finishing 3rd, but a 31-14 loss to Melbourne and former assistant coach Craig Bellamy in the qualifying final thrust them into sudden death footy once again. They were drawn to take on Queensland rivals North Queensland Cowboys, a team Brisbane had never lost to. As a positive gesture, Brisbane volunteered to move the home final to the Cowboys' Dairy Farmers Stadium, however the 25,000 Cowboys fans in attendance pushed the Townsville side to a stunning 10-0 upset over the Broncos, in what would be Tallis' last career game. Lockyer collected a host of awards in his first season as five-eighth, including Dally M Five-Eighth Of The Year, the Provan Summons Medal, and the RLIF Back Of The Year for his work in Australia's dominant Tri Nations success. In the final against Great Britain he scored a try and kicked six goals in their 44-4 victory. Also in 2004, during a game for the Broncos, Lockyer took a hit to the throat which caused damage to a small bone in his larynx. This has resulted in his unusually husky-sounding voice, which could be corrected with surgery that Lockyer has so far declined to undergo. 2005 With Gorden Tallis' retirement at the end of the 2004 season, the Broncos' captaincy was passed onto Lockyer in 2005. He also captained Australia at five-eighth in the 2005 ANZAC Test, scoring two tries. Lockyer then captained Queensland at five-eighth in all three games of their unsuccessful 2005 State of Origin series. In 2005 Lockyer was also the Broncos' top point-scorer as they led the comp for a majority of the season, only for 2 losses at the end of the season consigning them to a 3rd place finish. Brisbane would again lose to Melbourne in the qualifying final, this time a 24-18 loss, before losing to