The NRL Finals get underway with an all-Queensland derby as the Brisbane Broncos take on the Gold Coast Titans in the first elimination final at Suncorp Stadium on Friday Night.
After making the grand final in the 2015 season, but ultimately going down in a golden point thriller the Broncos were looking strong early this season as well.
However, they had a drop off over the middle part of the season, with injuries and the State of Origin hitting hard. The Broncos were slow to recover from it as well and for a scary moment it looked like they may not have even made the top eight.
The Brisbane-based club did make a recovery over the final rounds of the season, and ended up getting themselves into the mix for the top four and a second chance, but would finish fifth on for and against behind the Cowboys.
Brisbane enter the finals on the back of five straight victories, and a win against minor premiers the Melbourne Storm away from home will give them confidence they can do damage this year.
The Titans, on the other hand, were supposed to be in the fight for the wooden spoon this year, which was taken by the Newcastle Knights. What Neil Henry has been able to do on the Gold Coast is borderline amazing.
Taking a young and inexperienced squad, particularly with halfback Ashley Taylor guiding them around the park and taking them to the top eight when realistically no one, not even their most one-eyed supporters could see that happening at the beginning of the 2016 season.
They were also the club that broke an incredible 15-match win streak of the Cronulla Sharks, drawing with them and despite two straight losses coming into the finals they will be full of confidence.
Late in the season, the club signed code-hopping superstar Jarryd Hayne and he has had an immediate impact both on and off the field. Whether it is all positive remains to be seen with some criticism of him – but more on this later.
Unfortunately for the Titans, they have an absolutely terrible record playing the Broncos, having only won 5 of 20 matches between the two teams since they entered the competition in 2007.
Those numbers include just a single win out of ten attempts at Suncorp Stadium, and losing their only final match between the two sides.
Last five meetings
Round 5, 2016 – Titans 16 defeated by Broncos 24 at CBus Super Stadium
Round 20, 2015 – Broncos 34 defeat Titans 0 at Suncorp Stadium
Round 5, 2015 – Titans 16 defeated by Broncos 24 at CBus Super Stadium
Round 10, 2014 – Broncos 22 defeat Titans 8 at Suncorp Stadium
Round 6, 2014 – Titans 12 defeat Broncos 8 at CBus Super Stadium
Team news
Neither team has any major news to report based on the squads which were announced on Tuesday Evening. The Broncos will take a six-man bench into the contest with Joe Ofahengaue and Jonus Pearson added, while the Titans have seven on their bench with the additions of Anthony Don, Lachlan Burr and William Zillman.
The only other thing worth noting is that Jarryd Hayne will once again be at fullback.
Key players
For the visitors, how can you go past the phenomenon that is Jarryd Hayne? He might have had a few less than brilliant matches in the past few weeks, but his first few weeks at the club were electric.
You could pick any of the creative players as the Broncos key man, but I’m going to go with hooker Andrew McCullogh.
What style best suits the Broncos?
When the Broncos travelled to Melbourne and recorded what was a massive victory, it was hard to get a gauge on what their best style of play is.
Normally any Wayne Bennett coached team is going to carry an attitude of defence first, and the attack is made from a solid kicking game and good set plays slowly wearing the other side down.
The Storm often use the same tactics, but the Broncos went completely left-field in Melbourne, throwing it around out of their own end and looking to attack with vigour at every opportunity presented to them.
The question now is which style do the Broncos use?
With attacking players such as Anthony Milford, Ben Hunt, Darius Boyd, Andrew McCullogh in dummy half and outside backs such as James Roberts and Corey Oates they seem to be a team that could do with a bit less structure in their play.
The question though comes down to the forwards. When they played Melbourne, they weren’t confident of being able to dominate or even contest with them up the middle, and why would they have been?
So, they played at a cracking pace and tried to bring in those creative players and outside backs to do the damage and it worked an absolute treat.
What is key for the Broncos, given they are on a winning streak and every match from here on out is sudden death is picking their style, deciding what works for them and rolling with it all the way to the grand final.
While there are obvious differences between the Storm and Titans for example, the Broncos style should be the same so they can build up more consistency for the finals.
Ashley Taylor must play his role
No matter the influence of Jarryd Hayne on the Titans, one of the key reasons they have made the finals and find themselves in the position they are in when they shouldn’t be is the outstanding form of Ashley Taylor.
He has simply been scintillating throughout the season, but seems to have taken a smaller role on since the arrival of Hayne.
If Hayne overplays his hand though, as has been shown a couple of times at the back end of the season Taylor takes that backwards step and the Titans performance suffers.
For a rookie, Taylor truly has been incredible and he needs to be the one controlling the game with his kicking and passing, along with making all the decisions in conjunction with Tyrone Roberts who has played solidly throughout the season.
Not only does that give the Titans more direction around the park, which is something they are going to need if they were to crack Brisbane, it gives Hayne more unpredictability about exactly when and where he is going to jump in to do something.
If Hayne were to do that, and give support for Taylor and co when they decided to run it, he becomes a lot more dangerous than if he is always on the ball, and for the Titans to win, Hayne is going to need to be at his big game best.
The pair must be able to work in tandem and do what is best for the team on every attacking raid against what is generally a strong Broncos defensive line if they are to put enough points on the board.
The forwards battle will decide the match
There is no question that both teams have points in them if presented the opportunity, and have laid down some good defensive performances at various points throughout the season.
While I made mention of the fact the Broncos might look to play a quicker style not relying on forward domination so much, it’s still going to be what this match comes down to.
If they can get on top of the Titans forwards, it is going to pave the way for Hunt and Milford to get up to their usual tricks through the middle of the park and the pace of the game will pick up due to that anyway.
The question really, is whether the Titans pack have the depth, experience and strength to challenge Brisbane. Ryan James, Agnatius Passi and Zeb Taia are all fantastic, but matched up against Brisbane you just can’t be sure what you’ll get.
What you can be sure of is the consistent sort of performance Greg Bird and Luke Douglas will give you, and they must be the drivers and dominators if the Titans are to get over the line.
So, who wins it?
When everything is weighed up, it’s really difficult to go past the Broncos. They have all the running between the two sides in their history and enter the finals on the back of a five game win streak.
They have more depth, more experience and master coach Wayne Bennett at the helm.
As they have done all season long, the Titans will fight hard and have some moments of brilliance. It won’t be without a scare, but the Broncos should get the job done.
Prediction: Broncos by 8.
Key Information
Kick-off: 7:55pm (AEST)
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Betting: Broncos $1.28, Titans $3.80
TV: Live, Fox Sports (7pm), Nine Network (7:30pm)
Overall Record: Played 20, Broncos 15, Titans 5
History in finals: Played 1, Broncos 1, Titans 0
Last five: Broncos 4, Titans 1
History at venue: Played 10, Broncos 9, Titans 1
Referees: Gerard Sutton and Gavin BadgerBrisbane Broncos
1. Darius Boyd 2. Corey Oates 3. Tom Opacic 4. James Roberts 5. Jordan Kahu 6. Anthony Milford 7. Ben Hunt 8. Josh McGuire 9. Andrew McCullough 10. Adam Blair 11. Sam Thaiday 12. Matt Gillett 13. Corey Parker
Interchange: 14. Jarrod Wallace 15. Tevita Pangai Junior 16. Jai Arrow 17. Alex Glenn 18. Jo Ofanhengaue 19. Jonus PearsonGold Coast Titans
1. Jarryd Hayne 2. David Mead 3. Josh Hoffman 4. Konrad Hurrell 5. Nene Macdonald 6. Tyrone Roberts 7. Ashley Taylor 8. Luke Douglas 9. Nathan Peats 10. Ryan James 11. Zeb Taia 12. Chris McQueen 13. Greg Bird
Interchange: 14. Leivaha Pulu 15. Ryan Simpkins 16. Agnatius Paasi 17. Nathan Friend 18. Anthony Don 19. William Zillman 20. Lachlan Burr
Don’t forget The Roar will carry live coverage of every NRL Finals match.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde
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