'No pride at all': Gender reveal divides fans after wooden spoon loss

There was no fairytale NRL send-off for Darius Boyd on Thursday night, but there was still one important thing for him to smile about after the game

The Brisbane veteran's glittering career came to a sad end at Suncorp Stadium as the Broncos were relegated to dead last for the first time in the club’s history, courtesy of a 32-16 loss to North Queensland.

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It was an inglorious end to ex-skipper Boyd's otherwise stellar 337-game career.

Positives were hard to find after Brisbane ended a horror year that included a club-record 11 straight losses, their most defeats in a season (17), their most points conceded (624), their lowest season points tally (268) and their worst points differential (-356).

Brisbane did have something to celebrate after the final whistle though, when the team joined Boyd for a bizarre post-match gender reveal for his unborn baby.

Booting a makeshift footy towards the stands, an explosion of pink smoke erupted to signify that the 33-year-old and and his wife Kayla were having a baby girl.

While it was undoubtedly one of the few things to bring joy to Boyd and the Broncos in a horror 2020, many viewers were left seething.

Fans insisted it was a shocking look for the players to be celebrating straight after clinching the club's first ever wooden spoon, with the gender reveal proving divisive on social media.

Gender reveal divides fans

"Imagine losing 32-16 confirming the wooden spoon and being happy about it after the game," one user wrote on Instagram.

Another said: "I'd be pissed off if this my my team and they'd just finished last. No pride in the jersey at all."

Boyd was showered with praise after the curtain came down on his glittering career, with Channel Nine airing tributes from former teammates and coaches such as Alex McKinnon and Wayne Bennett.

The 33-year-old did manage to score a try in his final outing in the NRL, before saying a heartfelt goodbye to fans after the match.

“It‘s disappointing obviously but it’s been a tough year for a number of reasons,” he said.

“My last game isn‘t going to define the career I’ve had, I’ve been very grateful and honoured to play with some of the best players in the game and for some great clubs too. A lot of gratitude and I really owe a lot to rugby league.”

Boyd backs Kevvie for Broncos job

The veteran said despite Brisbane's struggles in 2020, he's sure the club is in safe hands.

Boyd was confident it would be after looking at the talent in the Broncos dressing room rather than the NRL ladder on Thursday night.

Citing youngsters Herbie Farnworth, Xavier Coates and Jordan Riki, Boyd firmly believed the Broncos' future was bright.

"In my opinion, having a new coach, a new system, the boys putting this year behind them, getting out of the bubble and if they re-group and refresh and have a real strong pre-season with a defensive mindset I think this group can easily get into the top eight next year," he said.

Former Broncos premiership-winning captain and current Queensland mentor Walters was interviewed for the Brisbane 2021 gig on Thursday along with ex-Cowboys mentor Paul Green.

Boyd reckoned there was only one man who could turn it around for Brisbane.

"I've always said Kevvie deserves it," he said.

"At the end of the day the club needs to make a big decision.

"Kevvie has been around for quite a while, his record speaks for itself as a player and assistant, I know he hasn't had a head coaching job ... but I think the fans will get behind Kevvie.

"At the end of the day you need to get results - it's up to them (Broncos)."

Despite Boyd's optimism, Brisbane will start 2021 behind the eight ball after makeshift five-eighth and NSW Origin hopeful Kotoni Staggs suffered a suspected ACL knee injury.

with AAP