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The Wests Tigers welcome the Brisbane Broncos to Campbelltown in Round 11, celebrating the club’s 15th anniversary against theit first NRL opponent. Join us for live scores and commentary from 7:30pm AEST.
It shapes as an intriguing match-up, with both teams challenged due to the absence of their State of Origin stars while looking to continue their winning form from the last round.
Skipper Robbie Farah returned last week from a spell on the sidelines and is arguably the most influential loss to either team. The Tigers must continue without him this week due to Origin.
Tigers prop Aaron Woods has also been handed a Blues jersey, while the Broncos lose Corey Parker, Matt Gillett and Justin Hodges due to Queensland selection.
On top of this, the Tigers’ apparent home ground advantage is not what it seems. The Tigers have only obtained a winning percentage of 20.45% in all their games against their bogey team in the Broncos, with an average losing margin of 11.
The Broncos have won five games from as many starts at Campbelltown Stadium.
In fact, the Tigers have not beaten the Broncos since round 17, 2010, when they narrowly prevailed in Brisbane by two points, 16-14. With these results all heavily in favour of the Broncos, you could forgive Tigers faithful for not being completely optimistic.
However, it’s rare that the Wests Tigers (6th) are situated above the Broncos (11th) on the table. The Tigers will look to continue their early season run of form with an uncommon win against Brisbane.
Brisbane will once again rely on halfback Ben Hunt, who has emerged as a dominant figure for them this season. His form has dispelled many pre-season queries about his suitability as the single dominant half, scoring seven tries and producing eight try assists in ten appearances.
The Broncos will be without Sam Thaiday, Ben Hannant and Mitchell Dodds, as well as their Origin stars.
In the battle of the halves, the Tigers’ Luke Brooks must step up and control the game with the kicking and playmaking ability which have some people likening him to the great Andrew Johns. Brooks must take charge of the game if the Tigers are to stand a chance against a depleted yet still formidable Broncos team.
Young fullback sensation James Tedesco is also a notable absentee from the Tigers. After lighting up the pre-season Auckland Nines competition, he carried the form into the first few rounds until unfortunately succumbing to an ankle injury which sees him out until round 13.
The Tigers have not been fortunate with injuries, with James Gavet, Curtis Sironen, Dene Halatau, Liam Fulton and Tim Molzten also sidelined.
Can the Tigers break the historical hoodoo, or will the Broncos continue their pattern of dominance?
I predict a close game with the Broncos continuing their winning run over the Tigers, 24-16.
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