Darren Lockyer flicks a quick glance at the aftermath of a Broncos training session. Behind him, the few remaining players are stepping into makeshift ice baths as they try to escape the clutches of the morning rays belting down in Brisbane's west.

Young and brash, Brisbane's Gen-Y brigade is joking and laughing as they submerge in the frosty waters; bodies hardened and ready for war after an intense pre-season flogging from the fitness staff. Lockyer remembers those days well, when the blinkers of youth meant only football consumed his thoughts and his body was a blank canvas for a career of hard-earned scars.

That his young teammates would comprehend the intense pressure bearing down on their captain's shoulders is debatable. But to think the 30-year-old would trade in his lofty status for that of a carefree kid is to misread the Brisbane and Australian skipper.

It's never easy to map the inner workings of a champion, or isolate the particles that give one player the ability to rise above the rest.

For Lockyer, it's not only the drive to succeed that has launched him into the rare air he now occupies. Perched on the other shoulder is the constant and nagging trepidation he may fall short at the post.

"You always have the fear of failure," Lockyer admits. "But having the role as captain you always want your team to do well and the club to do well. My role as captain is to do as best as we can and to achieve as much as possible."

To some NRL players, the very notion of responsibility is as confusing as a Rubik's cube to the colourblind. Lockyer, for his part, feeds on the hefty weight of expectation he lugs on his wiry, Roma-bred frame. It's the fuel that helps him focus and retain the hunger that has propelled his stellar career for Brisbane, his state and his country.

"I think football now, I think I have a lot more responsibility on my shoulders. But I like having that responsibility. It helps my focus," he says.

"I think every year presents different challenges. My role is really to try to make sure we really achieve as much as we can as a team. And I play a big part in that. Every year there is a new premiership up for grabs."

Lockyer's off-season was eventful to say the least. He married long-time girlfriend Loren Pollock then watched as his coach Wayne Bennett sensationally announced he would leave the club at the end of this season. In the best traditions of grooms worldwide, Lockyer admits planning a wedding wasn't his cup of tea. While marital bliss had helped him put football into perspective, he says he won't exactly miss picking chair covers or perusing flower arrangements.

"The stuff off the field, the marriage - that's good I don't have to worry about planning another wedding. But the Wayne thing was always going to be talked about for a while," he says.

And then there is the knee. The one that went "pop" midway through last season in front of thousands of horrified Broncos fans. As it turned out, with Lockyer's shredded ligaments went Brisbane's season.

Since then, his knee has become the most talked about joint since Bill Clinton admitted he smoked weed (but didn't inhale).

Publicly, Lockyer has spoken with confidence about his return from the reconstruction. Despite his agility slightly lagging and pace off the mark missing match sharpness, he says his leg is rating at 95 per cent with the extra five likely to come back within the first four rounds.

Deeper down, he is preparing for the raft of unknowns major knee surgery can produce. Even his surgeon, Peter Myers, says there are no guarantees for what may transpire once the ball is in play.

"It is an unknown for me. But going from past experience, in other guys it's taken nearly a month of footy to get their confidence back. I've got to prepare for what might happen," Lockyer says. "I'm thinking the first four weeks of footy I'll go out and do as good a job as I can and during that period, hopefully everything else comes back to me."

Broncos fans will hope with him. Lockyer's absence for the second half of the 2007 season resulted in Brisbane becoming rudderless, struggling for direction without Lockyer's guiding touch and limping gamely to the finals. Once there, they were blasted out of the water by the rampant Storm.

In his 14th and possibly last season, Lockyer remains realistic about Brisbane's title hopes. With the departure of Petero Civoniceva, Brad Thorn, Brent Tate, Dane Carlaw and Shaun Berrigan comes a distinct changing of the guard at Red Hill - one Lockyer admits will be difficult to overcome.

Difficult. But not impossible.

"I think we've got a bit of work to do if we're going to win the premiership this year, there's no doubt," he says. "But we've got 26 rounds to do that.

"In saying that, we can't just go through the motions early in the season because once you're under pressure it's harder to win.

"I think on paper, there's enough talent there to win the premiership. It's a matter of getting the mechanics right within the team.

"And our depth will be tested. Hopefully we'll have a better run with injuries than we did last year. And I think with Origin, we've probably got not as much representation so that's going to be a plus for us."

Brisbane kick off their season against Penrith at Suncorp Stadium tomorrow.