The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

World Club Series Game 2 preview: Wigan Warriors vs Brisbane Broncos

18th February, 2015
Advertisement
Ben Hunt - falling upwards into an Origin jersey. (AAP Image/ Action Photographics, Colin Whelan)
Roar Guru
18th February, 2015
6
1745 Reads

The Broncos have had many trips to England under coach Wayne Bennett, the last being in 2007 when they lost to St Helens 18–14.

They have also had two games against Wigan, with the score 1-1, so this is a grudge match of sorts.

Brisbane come up against an undefeated Wigan Warriors in two games this season, after being runners-up in the Super League grand final last year. Wigan played in the World Club Challenge last year, being defeated 36–14 by the Sydney Roosters.

The Broncos finished eighth last year and are struggling with injuries before their season proper has started, but with an experienced coach such as Bennett they should not be discounted.

Broncos squad
Adam Blair, Mitchell Dodds, James Gavet, Alex Glenn, Justin Hodges, Ben Hunt, Jordan Kahu, Lachlan Maranta, Andrew McCullough, Josh McGuire, Anthony Milford, Kodi Nikorima, Joe Ofahengaue, Tom Opacic, Corey Parker, Sam Thaiday, Daniel Vidot, Aaron Whitchurch.

Opacic has gone down with a virus, leaving Bennett with just 17 players to select from, but he remains defiant over his decision to take only 18 players on tour.

With Darius Boyd out with a long-term training injury, Bennett is expected to select youngster Jordan Kahu as starting fullback, with some internal options available within the team if he struggles. The Warriors are bound to test Kahu out, to see if they can exploit the cracks which appeared in his trial against the Cowboys.

The Cherry and Whites drew 22-22 with a man advantage against Widnes before coming from behind to beat Huddersfield in their opening two games this year, and Wigan head coach Shaun Wane has said his side must improve:

Advertisement

“The main thing is that we turn up and put our best performance on – I’m sure the players will do that. We do need to improve. That was two poor performances, we’re not finding that consistency in our game yet.”

For his part, Bennett is playing down the importance of the new World Club Series, insisting he will be using Saturday’s clash with Wigan as preparation for the 2015 NRL season:

“The result is not as important as the way that we play, the way we execute our plays and get some combinations working.”

Both coaches expect their teams to put in an decent effort before a sold-out Wigan crowd. But the Broncos struggled away from home last year, and you cannot get much further away on this planet, so this looks like the Warriors’ game.

close