Having lost four of their last five matches since the start of last month, the Brisbane Broncos will be out to rebound when they face the Canberra Raiders at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday night.
The Broncos entered this season as premiership favourites on the back of the club’s resurgence under Wayne Bennett, in which they reached the grand final following several years of underachievement in the time that he was away from Red Hill.
Their form last season was attributed to the halves Anthony Milford and Ben Hunt, and again the duo, along with fullback Darius Boyd and State of Origin winger Corey Oates have proven instrumental to their strong first half of the season.
Up to Round 8 the club lost just one match, by a point against the Penrith Panthers at Pepper Stadium in Round 3, but since then the wheels appear to be falling off, having won just one match since Anzac Day.
Last week the Broncos suffered their heaviest defeat for the season when they lost to the New Zealand Warriors across the ditch by 36-18.
The form slump comes at a time when the club is among those most affected by State of Origin, with six players having played in Queensland’s Game I victory over New South Wales four days prior.
By contrast, the Warriors came into the match the fresher team, not only were they coming off a bye, but they also had no players represented last Wednesday night.
However, once the Origin period ends there will be no excuses for the Broncos as they attempt to break what is currently their longest premiership drought, which if not broken this year will stretch beyond a decade and a day.
To open Round 14 they will host a Canberra Raiders side that has impressed this season in what is Ricky Stuart’s third year as coach of the club.
They sit just below the Broncos in fifth place on the ladder and could so easily be joint competition leaders with the Sharks and Storm had they not drew with the Knights in Round 3, and not lost narrowly to the Titans, Panthers and Dragons in rounds four, nine and ten respectively.
In the same manner that Milford, Hunt and co. are leading the Broncos’ pursuit of their first premiership since 2006, Aidan Sezer, Jarrod Croker and Blake Austin, among others, are playing well for the Raiders as they seek their first finals berth since 2012.
Last Friday night the Raiders managed to end a hoodoo of sorts as they defeated the Sea Eagles at home for the first time since 2004. It was their third straight victory following on from impressive efforts against the Warriors and Bulldogs, both of which followed a heartbreaking golden point loss to the Dragons in Round 10.
However, the win came at a cost with both Jack Wighton and Shannon Boyd copping one-match suspensions for contrary conduct and a shoulder charge respectively.
Taking their places in the line-up will be Zac Santo, who will make his Raiders debut after previously playing one game for the North Queensland Cowboys in 2014, and Paul Vaughan.
The Raiders will get the chance to break another drought when they play at Suncorp Stadium for the first time since 2012, the club having not won in the Queensland capital since 2010 when David Furner was coach.
The match will also pit former Test coaches Wayne Bennett and Ricky Stuart up against each other, with the former leading the rivalry by eleven wins to eight.
And so, the stage is set. Can the Raiders continue on their impressive run of form under Stuart, or will Bennett’s Broncos break out of their form slump and show why they are the favourites to win the premiership this season?
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