The Brisbane Broncos will be looking to win five straight tonight when they face a Canberra Raiders side coming off a strong victory. Join us for live scores and commentary from 7:30pm AEST.
Life without Darren Lockyer continues to be a breeze for Brisbane, with the six-time premiership winners currently sitting second on the NRL ladder.
Their only loss was back in Round 2 when they were upstaged by the North Queensland Cowboys in a thrilling contest.
Since then, the Broncos have won four straight matches including last week’s comfortable 18-14 victory against the Wests Tigers.
Brisbane, however, will have to be on their toes tonight against a Raiders team capable of producing anything.
Canberra bounced back strongly against the Warriors last week, registering a 32-12 victory barely a week after succumbing meekly to the Cowboys.
The Raiders have had trouble with consistency this season and will need to be in peak form tonight if they are to unsettle a confident Broncos unit.
Prediction
As evidenced by their recent wins against the Dragons and Tigers, Brisbane are dominating upfront and are laying a wonderful platform for their star studded backline to shine.
Forwards Sam Thaiday, Alex Glenn, Matt Gillett, Josh McGuire, Ben Hunt and Ben Hannant are all punching through the advantage line this season and are proving difficult to handle for opposition defences.
The Broncos domination upfront has fast tracked the evolving combination that Peter Wallace and Corey Norman currently share in the halves.
Norman in particular is doing a fine job filling Lockyer’s shoes. The young half has not overplayed his hand in attack this season and he has also developed a terrific running game.
With Wallace sidelined with a groin injury however, Norman will have to assume full responsibility of Brisbane’s attack tonight, so it will be interesting to see how well he handles his playmaking duties without his halves partner.
If Norman does play well, the Raiders will be hard pressed to contain an in-form backline containing Justin Hodges, Josh Hoffman, Jack Reed and Gerard Beale.
To avoid such defensive pressure, Canberra has to make a statement upfront and dominate proceedings up the middle against a physical Brisbane pack.
David Shillington, Tom Learoyd-Lars, Josh Papalii and Bronson Harrison all had strong games against the Warriors last week and are very capable of dominating again tonight.
Shillington and Harrison in particular will be desperate to have good games tonight in a bid to impress Australia and New Zealand Test selectors ahead of next week’s ANZAC Test clash.
If the Raiders can continue from where they left off against New Zealand, this contest could very well end up being one of the matches of the season.
Although Brisbane should start warm favourites, Canberra may just view this match as a terrific opportunity to make a statement about their premiership credentials.
Raiders by six.
Alan
Roar Guru
Thanks for following Roarsome.
Alan
Roar Guru
Lockyer who? Norman really stood up for Brisbane tonight in Wallace's absence as he orchestrated an easy 30-6 victory over a Raiders team that started well, but faded badly as the contest wore on. The injury to Campese did the Raiders no favours but Brisbane were just too dominant tonight as they strolled to their 5th consecutive victory. Hodges, Beale, Hunt, McCullough, Hoffman and Hannant were all solid for Brisbane. In some good news for Canberra, Campese's injury does not appear to be season ending. One thing's for certain though: Dugan and Campese have to make their way back to the Raiders line-up as soon as possible. Without these two players, the Raiders lack structure in attack and will struggle to avoid the bottom of the ladder. Brisbane however continue to march on, and it appears that only the Melbourne Storm possess the class necessary to thwart the Broncos current momentum. Thanks for joining us tonight and we look forward to your company tomorrow on The Roar. FULLTIME: Broncos 30 Raiders 6
Roarsome
Guest
Cheers Alan! Thanks for the blog. -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download The Roar's iPhone App in the App Store here.
Alan
Roar Guru
FULLTIME: Raiders lose possession in attack and that sums up Canberra's night.... Broncos 30 Raiders 6
Alan
Roar Guru
79' - Gillett knocks the football on after attempting to regather a McCrone chip kick. McCrone has tried hard tonight but the Raiders without Campese and Dugan are an average side to say the least. Broncos 30 Raiders 6
Alan
Roar Guru
78' - Game is getting sloppy now as Thaiday produces a bad offload. Raiders get possession and try to spread the football but the Broncos defence is everywhere. Broncos 30 Raiders 6
Alan
Roar Guru
77' - Croker loses possession for Canberra now and Brisbane will go right on the attack. Canberra look very disorganised in attack without Campese. Broncos 30 Raiders 6
Alan
Roar Guru
76' - Gillett loses possession for Brisbane but its all academic now. Brisbane have had the competition points wrapped up for a while now. Raiders work it out from their own half here. Broncos 30 Raiders 6
Alan
Roar Guru
75' - Ferguson bats a Hunt cross field kick over the sideline and Brisbane remain on the attack. They should score here... Broncos 30 Raiders 6
Alan
Roar Guru
74' - Six to go now for Brisbane and they remain on the attack here. Raiders are dead and buried here and the Broncos could twist the knife soon enough. Broncos 30 Raiders 6
Alan
Roar Guru
72' - Wighton defuses a good bomb and the Raiders work it out from their own half here. Brisbane have dominated this contest from the 20 minute mark of the first half and haven't looked back. Raiders lose possession and the nightmare continues. Broncos 30 Raiders 6
Alan
Roar Guru
71' - Norman has been outstanding for the Broncos tonight. Brisbane possess all the talent in the world at the moment. Raiders can't wait to head back to Canberra now. This has been a nightmare game after such a good start. Brisbane continue to make easy yardage here. Broncos 30 Raiders 6
Alan
Roar Guru
CONVERSION SUCCESSFUL - Parker converts and its 30-6 Brisbane. Their great start to the season will continue. When will the Broncos play Melbourne? Broncos 30 Raiders 6
Alan
Roar Guru
TRY BRONCOS - Norman regathers a McCullough grubber kick and he scores under the post. Brisbane will win five straight here. Broncos 28 Raiders 6
Alan
Roar Guru
69' - Canberra lose possession and Hodges gets the football for Brisbane. Broncos right on the attack and the Raiders have to defend yet again. Broncos 24 Raiders 6
Alan
Roar Guru
67' - Reed regathers a McCullough cross field kick but he loses possession shortly after. Raiders are on life support here as they work it out of their own half here. Canberra get a penalty now because Reed was offside.
Alan
Roar Guru
67' - McCrone kicks deep and Brisbane once again return the football with Hoffman. Its all too easy for the Broncos at the moment. Its a training run here. Broncos 24 Raiders 6
Alan
Roar Guru
65' - Norman makes a break and feeds Hunt who loses possession. Raiders continue to hang on here but the Broncos are surely going to seal the deal soon. Canberra with the scrum feed. Broncos 24 Raiders 6
Alan
Roar Guru
64' -Ferguson has played well tonight for Canberra as he defuses another good grubber from Hunt. Raiders are hanging on by a thread here as they work it up to the halfway. Berrigna with a kick but Hoffman get to it on the full and the Broncos remain in complete control. Broncos 24 Raiders 6
Alan
Roar Guru
63' - Raiders are falling apart here as they muck up play on the last tackle. Berrigan kicks straight to a Bronco and Brisbane should kill off this contest soon. Broncos 24 Raiders 6