The biggest test of the Brisbane Broncos’ resurgence under Wayne Bennett is set to come this Friday night when they welcome the Sydney Roosters to Suncorp Stadium, in what shapes as one of the matches of the round.
The Broncos bounced back from their 36-6 thrashing by South Sydney to notch up four wins in succession ahead of the visit by the Roosters, who remain the premiership favourites despite their shock 20-12 loss to the Sharks last Sunday.
All the talk had been about whether the Rabbitohs could become the first team since the Broncos in 1992-93 to successfully defend the premiership in a unified competition, until Souths suffered a shock loss to Parramatta a round before losing halfback Adam Reynolds to a knee injury for up to five months on Friday.
The Roosters are now shaping as the team to beat, despite losing Anthony Minichiello to retirement and Sonny Bill Williams to rugby at the end of last season.
Williams, who left the NRL in disgrace midway through 2008 while at the Bulldogs, has been credited with turning the club’s culture around, leading to their general on-field resurgence under coach Trent Robinson.
Robinson’s no-nonsense approach saw the Roosters claim the minor premiership-premiership double in 2013, and another minor premiership last season before losing to South Sydney in the preliminary final.
This season they have started impressively, winning three of their first five matches to be sitting fourth, two places below the second-placed Broncos, ahead of this Friday night’s showdown.
Meanwhile, it appeared as if the Broncos still had a lot of work to do after they meekly lost their first match under Wayne Bennett since 2008 to the Rabbitohs, but as their fans would have expected they bounced back with four straight wins, the most recent of which was a strong 26-16 win over the Gold Coast Titans.
They had previously struggled their way to a win over the Sharks, while they also posted 44 points on the North Queensland Cowboys and escaped with victory over the New Zealand Warriors in Auckland.
It comes as Anthony Milford produced his best performance as a Bronco, scoring two tries in the win over the Titans.
They will have the chance to shoot for five straight wins, something they have not done since the early part of the 2012 season. They also haven’t beaten the Roosters since that same season and not at home since 2003.
For the Chooks, this will be just the fifth time since Suncorp Stadium was reopened in 2003 that the club has played at the ground. They have an impressive recent record there, winning on their last four visits, including a thrilling 30-26 win in the corresponding clash last year and a preliminary final win over the Titans in 2010.
The winner of this clash could assume the mantle as premiership favourites.
And with Reynolds out of the picture, the pressure is on James Maloney and Mitchell Pearce if they are to force their way back into the New South Wales State of Origin team.
Blues coach Laurie Daley has already indicated that he wants a club halves combination in his side, therefore this puts the Roosters pair, as well as the incumbent Bulldogs Josh Reynolds and Trent Hodkinson, well in contention.
The stakes are high for both teams – the Broncos will be shooting for possibly the premiership lead even though the Rabbitohs and Knights have winnable games in hand against the Cowboys and Sharks respectively, while the Roosters will be keen to put last week’s loss to the Sharks, which cost them the lead at the top of the ladder, behind them.
eee
Guest
Come on mate the back line is full of injuries at the moment - not the best time to judge ...
Judge Holden
Roar Guru
I think it's hard to get a gauge on the Broncos, I can't figure them out at this stage. They were belted by the Rabbitohs when they were breathing fire but have since only played opponents struggling for form. In all, I still don't think their team has changed that much. Maranta doesn't offer much at fullback and dropped a sitter under no pressure last week. The Roosters had an off game against the Sharks and were rattled by their aggressive forwards. This is where the game will be won and lost for Brisbane. I still think they have too many errors and too many average players in the team to get over the Roosters. Just on a side note, I'll compare the back five of Brisbane in 2006 to the current day: 1) Karmichael Hunt vs Lachlan Maranta 2) Darius Boyd vs Corey Oates 3) Brent Tate vs Jack Reed 4) Justin Hodges vs Dale Copley 5) Steve Michaels vs Daniel Vidot Geez there were some handy players in the squad back then. Despite being a Cowboys fan I miss seeing the Broncos with some more quality players running around their team. It was great being able to sit back on a Friday night and enjoy seeing the Broncos play some exciting attacking football and pelting those Southern scrublords.
PNG Bronco fan#88
Guest
Milford getting his mojo back and our attack looking sleek. If Roosters continue their form of giving up cheap penalties, it could be a long night for them. The mighty Broncs by 13+!
ferret
Guest
I hope you're right!
Chappy
Guest
Ferret, Pearce and Maloney have had 2 bad games out 5 already. That's a 40% strikerate, not a great start to the season. And I'm sure you'll see Pearce go missing again when the pressure is on. He definitely has improved, but when his forwards ain't dominating he goes missing. Pearce has done this throughout his career and will continue to do the same. Defiantly not Origin material.
ferret
Guest
@ Chappy - a couple of years ago I would have agreed with you about Pearce. But he was much improved, beginning the season they won the premiership and has stepped up since. I'd love to see him have another below par game, but I don't think it iwll happen.
Chappy
Guest
Pearce and Maloney were terrible last week, probably the worst halves performance of the year. There seems to be a pattern here to beat the Roosters. Stay in the arm wrestle with there forwards for the full 80 minutes and let Pearce and Maloney crumble under pressure.
Benedict Arnold
Guest
The roosters are under strength but I would expect them to comfortably open up the broncos on Friday. Pearce and his outside backs will have a field day on the edges.
Jimmmy
Guest
You would think the Roosters to win this Certainly more class in the outside backs but the Broncs are resilient . I also thi k the Roosters have a better bench, so Roosters for mine but should be a cracker.
William Dalton Davis
Roar Rookie
The way I see it is: We beat Sharks They lost to Sharks Broncos better than Roosters. I'm not sure how this theory will hold up in real life, but If the Sharks win taught us anything it's that there is a reason we play the game each week. Roosters will be hurting but with a short turn around after a very physical match up we're in a better position than Cronulla were last week.
Jay C
Roar Guru
Broncos by 4
ferret
Guest
I'll be there Friday night cheering on the Broncos but I don't overly fancy our chances. I suspect the forwards to hold the Roosters pack but our outside backs can't match the speed of the Roosters. Jack Reed has been burnt for pace at some point in all previous 5 games and Copley has at least a couple of missed tackles per game. The "Centres" position is crucial and I expect Jennings and RTS to carve the Broncos up out wide. Vidot is also not lightning quick and Oates is a great backrower playing on the wing. Maranta will be safe at the back but again no speedster. So expect the Chooks to spin it wide and often. Pearce and Maloney had absolute shockers last week, and let the Sharks off the hook, but I don't expect a repeat effort this week.