Bennett has brought a structure and a certainty to a club that has consistently failed to deal with the lofty expectations thrust upon them every year.

But while the Dragons have struggled to live up to their own hype in the past, Hornby's future has come under little scrutiny because he doesn't carry the same standing in the game as some of the NRL's other captains.

Brisbane skipper Darren Lockyer declared he wants to play on until the end of 2012.

Having achieved everything possible in rugby league, the Broncos have welcomed the decision.

The Storm have already indicated they will keep Queensland and Australian representative hooker Cameron Smith regardless of how many players they have to offload to be under the salary cap next season.

Hornby remains highly regarded for his composure and direction among the playing group, but showed that the heat is on him and the Dragons when he lost his cool and chased the referees off the field in protest after the thrilling golden point loss to the Gold Coast eight days ago.

With the contract situation unresolved, Hornby and the team left for Brisbane yesterday determined to press their claims for the minor premiership and a maiden title as a joint venture club.

The clash with the Broncos - who ended their season at Suncorp Stadium last year - comes on the back of a patchy month of form including losses to Penrith and the Gold Coast.

Hooker Luke Priddis claims the Dragons are better prepared than ever for a tilt at the NRL crown.

Priddis, who won titles with the Broncos in 2000 and Penrith in 2003, is one of three players in the team to have previously won a premiership.

Fullback Darius Boyd was a premiership player in his debut season with Brisbane in 2006 and Smith was part of the Melbourne Storm 2007 team which has since had its title stripped for systematic salary cap rorts.

"I think we are where we deserve [to be], which is on top," Priddis said.

"The idea is to get rid of those chinks in the armour that have come in the last three weeks.

"[We need] to fine tune and that could be [as result of] the back end of the State of Origin [campaign].

"Blokes like Darbs [Queensland winger Boyd], they've had a long season and they've been freshened up over the last couple weeks [at training] to build up to where we want to go.

"Our actions have got to speak - there's no use talking words. We've got to prove what we can do."