A rare Sunday afternoon match at Suncorp Stadium promises to be a cracker as the Brisbane Broncos host the Manly Sea Eagles. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 3:00pm AEST.
Back-to back-victories have the Broncos inside the top eight once again, but such is the closeness of the competition that a loss today could see them drop out.
Manly are riding high in second position on the NRL ladder and look well placed to challenge for the premiership.
Despite possessing a star roster, only Daly Cherry-Evans and Anthony Watmough were called up for Wednesday’s Origin opener, meaning that the rest of Manly’s squad are fit and ready to fire.
There have been some memorable contests played between these two sides up at Suncorp in recent seasons, and today’s match should be no different.
The battle between Ben Hunt and Cherry-Evans should be very interesting.
Hunt has been in good form for Brisbane this season and will be keen to test himself against one of the premier halfbacks in the NRL.
While the Broncos will certainly test the Sea Eagles today, Manly at their best remain a class above the Broncos given the great quality they possess in the key positions.
Ben Barba, Josh Hoffman, Ben Hunt and Andrew McCullough form a very promising spine for Brisbane, though they have rarely all clicked at once this season.
Regardless, they may struggle to match the proven quality of a Manly spine comprising Brett Stewart, Kieran Foran, Cherry-Evans and Matt Ballin.
Although Jamie Lyon and Glenn Stewart are still missing with injury, the Sea Eagles possess more than enough depth and class to secure another two competition points in a tight contest.
Sea Eagles by 8
djcooper
Roar Guru
Sorry mate but it was infact Tim Gilbert calling today who IMO is only marginally better than Ray Hadley.
Gaz
Guest
Fil Out enthused. That's how your coach put it. Put the sour grapes away in a safe place, you gunna need them again next week after Manly is taken apart by the Bulldogs.
Gaz
Guest
You also failed to see the most important stat of all that your team was beaten, thumped and flogged by 26 points on a very enjoyable Sunday afternoon.
Margaret M
Guest
Great game by the Broncos The team played well, seemed happy & were smiling & getting on with the game . Interesting . Good crowd at this game ,the biggest over this weekend? Wonder if something is or has changed. Attitude - Just Happy - Whatever -Great - Awesome. .What a pleasant game to watch if a Bronco's Fan
Ceej
Guest
Thanks Muzz, but I dont think any of those guys called the game, I thonk it was a guy called Matthew Thompson who they use to call Super Intrust Cup in Qld/Png who is usually parked up north because of his inability to call without bias. He was supposed to replace Voss as the logical successor to Ray Warren when he retires. Would appear they attempted to umleash him on us southerners today. Come on 9, swallow your wounded pride get rid of Hadley, keep Thompson up north and buy Voss back from SKY NZ, aside for some foot in mouth he is even better than Rabs now days.
The eye
Guest
All credit to the Broncos they handled/pressured the 'best backline' in the comp fairly comfortably today- Ben Hunt keeps punching above his weight...and Parker and Gillet(whos suddenly added a tinge of Mad Miles aggression) were super again after their great efforts in that other game..clearly the better side won despite the couple of favours they got..
Muzz
Guest
Tim Gilbert, Gus and Wally Lewis...Locky was on the sideline.
Ceej
Guest
So after all the re hashing of old news as to Channel 9 siding with Hadley when Voss sued him and still giving a radio voice (Hadley) the more creative task of looking at a screen and calling what you see to be in sync with viewers not racehorses does anyone out there know who the Maroon Eye caller of today's shame on Channel 9 was?
Fil
Guest
Because they didn't. Look at the stats. Less completions, one more line break and a penalty count of 7-3 piggy-backing them upfield consistently. Credit where credits and I see none due.
Fil
Guest
Will give you broncos but come on! Storm trio of billy, smith and cronk get away with murder. Not to mention all the lifting tackles.
Rellum
Roar Guru
Apart from the Ads it is great to finally be able to watch the Broncs again on a Sunday arvo.
Steve
Guest
The whole decoy runner thing does seem to get way over-complicated by the refs...not to mention inconsistently officiated! But I think the risk needs to lie with the attacking team, their choice to use a decoy and where a defender ends up on the deck as a result of a decoy it's a pretty clear cut penalty for mine...today's was a no brainer, broncos defender wasn't even attempting a tackle and was just bowled over. That said, manly did cop some rough calls...the maranta knock on, wow!
Rusty
Guest
Why can't people just acknowledge that the Broncos played awesome today?
Rusty
Guest
The Broncos don't get favored dude, neither do the Storm. They have both been dudded plenty of times this year. I agree that Ben Cummins is a shit ref though.
Rusty
Guest
It went backwards Fil. i call it as I see it. Broncos were just too good today, admit it mate.
Scrubbit
Guest
How is one penalty an even up? And Glenn's try was legit no matter what. Clean catch, ball goes back, Glenn grounds it.
Scrubbit
Guest
Ben hunt. Close but don't worry about it lol he isn't exactly a superstar. Too be honest I find the entire obstruction rule to be a complete farce where you're better off flipping a coin to come up with a decision. However in my opinion this one could be given a pass mark. I'd have been fine with it either way. He couldn't have stopped the try however he has been taken out. Coins at the ready boys!
Scrubbit
Guest
Wow talk about an over reaction from Hadley. Obvious as to why he wasn't given a contract renewal. Cheers for that muzz.
Fil
Guest
You can't say that. Once a try is given, it changes the whole complexion of the game. Manly with players out, in the wet, playing in front of the Bronco's home crowd, 'rabbit in the headlights' Cummins caught up in the atmosphere, 5-1 whistle-happy penalties for the Broncos early on. I reckon those first two tries changed a hell of a lot. Anyway, its all for wrapping tomorrow's fish n' chips in now. whether it's Manly or anyone else, my beef is with the incredibly sub-standard performance of the referees. Most of them, such as Hayne don't even look fit. They are huffing and puffing, can't keep up with the play. They blatantly favour certain teams such as the Storm, Broncos at home. The Cowboys still seem to get dudded, who knows why. I think referees in the NRL and Super 15 Rugby are the most unprofessional and incompetent officials, along with the judges, or should I say, 'out-of-touch judges'.
Muzz
Guest
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/hadley-sued-over-rabbits-statue/story-e6freuzi-1226468080678