TIMING is everything in this game. Arana Taumata says timing has been the key to his try-scoring feats of recent weeks. And timing means his eye-catching form in his three NRL games is likely to net him a new contract.

But it is unlikely to be with the Bulldogs. Taumata, the halfback/five-eighth who has scored a solo try in each of his three outings so far and played a key role in the defeat of Brisbane yesterday, is yet to receive an offer from his club as a number of others circle.

The Knights appear to be favourites for his signature, with Taumata giving a strong indication he will not be at the Bulldogs next year.

"I haven't really sat down to think about what I'm doing next year, but I've got to put it all in perspective," the 19-year-old said. "They [the Bulldogs] have signed a couple of players for next year - DJ [Daniel Holdsworth] and Benny Barba.

"At Newcastle, [Chris] Bailey is leaving, and to do some stuff with Andrew Johns - I've done some stuff with him over the past three or four weeks, and it's been great.

"I'm really happy here, but the Bulldogs haven't really put anything in front of me. But I'm just worrying about what I'm doing now. I don't want to worry about what's happening behind the scenes. I just want to keep on getting out there and playing footy."

And it's showing. His try yesterday was the first of the contest and, like his previous two, was sparkling, showing footwork and speed.

"It just comes up at the right time," he said. "I'm just really happy with the way things are going at the moment - if it comes next week, great, but I'm just working on being a better player."

Darren Lockyer is that better player. He returned from a knee injury yesterday to the wrong result, but the right result, if you get the drift. "The knee got through, safe to say, good this time," Lockyer said, even if disappointed by a loss.

The Broncos will welcome back centre Justin Hodges from suspension for Friday night's clash with the Cowboys, however they are likely to be without interchange forward Nick Emmett for the rest of the season after he suffered a dislocated ankle and possible ligament damage yesterday. The best scenario for him would be six weeks on the sidelines. Lock Tonie Carroll aggravated his long-standing ankle problem, and may be rested on Friday.

Regardless, the Broncos looked flat yesterday, hardly surprising given they have poked through the draining State of Origin period and had a bye last weekend. "We kind of expected that," coach Wayne Bennett said. "Momentum's everything in footy, and when you go away - everyone's been away - and with a lot of players injured or whatever, it'll just take us a bit longer to get that momentum right.

"But the effort was there. I was worried about that. I thought maybe we thought we just had to turn up to win, but they gave us a really tough game, and we played a pretty tough game ourselves … That was the best they've played in a while, Canterbury."