Still drained by one of the NRL’s great defensive efforts, ladder leaders Brisbane appear “vulnerable” ahead of Friday night’s clash with lowly Newcastle according to coach Wayne Bennett.
Bennett had no complaints after the Broncos’ gutsy 14-12 last round win in Melbourne where they braved 11 in-goal dropouts and made 69 tackles in their own 20m zone.
But the Brisbane master coach has not been so fond of what he has witnessed during their limited preparation ahead of Friday night’s Suncorp Stadium showdown.
Bennett hinted that Brisbane had lacked their spark at their two training sessions this week due to the short turnaround from Sunday’s gruelling win over the Storm.
In another headache, centre Jack Reed (head knock) is out, forcing a backline reshuffle in a side already without Queensland backrower Sam Thaiday (rested).
“We have been better,” Bennett said of their training effort this week.
Sitting pretty on top of the NRL ladder with one State of Origin match left has done little to settle Bennett’s anxiety ahead of the Knights clash.
Bennett believed Brisbane could not afford to drop their guard against a Knights side described as “embarrassing” by Newcastle skipper Kurt Gidley last week.
Newcastle led by 10 on two occasions but conceded three tries in seven minutes to lose 30-28 to Cronulla last round.
“They have had a pretty rough eight to 10 weeks now so they will be wanting to get it right,” Bennett said of second last Newcastle (5-9 record).
“We are a bit vulnerable right now.
“It is a game we have to make sure we have our heads on our shoulders … not just turn up and go through the motions.”
Bennett admitted he was “pleasantly surprised” Brisbane (11-3) were on top despite his stars juggling Origin duty.
“We have to come out the other side, it’s still not over for us, but in two or three weeks we should be clear of the (Origin) hangover,” he said.
“Being able to rest players is going to help us enormously.”
Justin Hodges and Corey Parker were rested for Brisbane’s win over Melbourne while Parker was also given a break in the wake of Origin I.
Meanwhile, an 18-strong Knights squad including Jarrod Mullen (foot) flew out for Brisbane on Thursday.
Forward Jeremy Smith (sternum) and half Tyrone Roberts (ankle) didn’t make the cut.
It later emerged Roberts was set to be dumped to the NSW Cup this weekend despite a club statement claiming the halfback had been “ruled out” of the Broncos clash.
It appears Roberts has recovered from an ankle injury but looks set to line up in the Knights’ NSW Cup clash on Sunday in Sydney.
It will only further fuel speculation linking Bulldogs off contract No.7 Trent Hodkinson with a move to the Knights next season.
Key stats
– Brisbane have suffered just one loss in nine games against Newcastle since 2011, and have enjoyed nine wins from 13 games against the Knights at Suncorp Stadium
– Brisbane sit on top of the ladder after round 15, a position they have not occupied so late in a season since 2005
– Newcastle led the competition after four rounds but are now just one loss away from potentially dropping to last with just one win in their last 10 games
– The second last Knights have won just two of their five away matches this season, both in Queensland
– Brisbane’s attack is the best in the competition, averaging the most points (26.6 per game), tries (4.6 per game) and line breaks (7 per game) since round 10
– In contrast Newcastle have been the worst defensive team since round 10, conceding the most points (28.2 per game), tries (4.8 per game) and second most line breaks (5.6 per game).
Don
Roar Rookie
His tackling this year is great but Thaiday is averaging only 87m a game from 11 runs. That is weak as... If he had a hair cut so the collisions didn't look so dramatic he would be almost unoticeable.
Jay C
Roar Guru
That is crazy. Thaiday has been great this year. I don't think any forward in the competition gets a faster play the ball away. and Oates isn't fit enough to play a full shift in the back row. Besides he is doing a great job off the bench and he won me 1500 bucks last night. Now that McGuire's season looks to be over I expect Sam will partner Blair up front. Unless he moves Parker to 10 and brings on Joe O. Jarrod Wallace is getting better. Has anyone heard if Gavet is on the mend.
up in the north
Roar Rookie
Nice line.
Don
Roar Rookie
Not so Jay. Reading about how well Thaiday has been playing (he had one ripper game with his future under threat), I'm pretty sure plenty of "flogging" goes on within the Broncos. It would be a better pack with Oates at 2nd row at half Sam's price. I'm just hoping the Titans haven't shown an interest and bumped up Sam's value because he isn't getting a good offer from the Cowboys. He is not the $500 - 600K player he is being paid.
clark bushnell
Guest
Banter aside, tonight will tell us whether or not the Broncs have the resilience to negotiate the long run into the finals and give themselves a real chance this year. I'll be happy with a one point victory given last week's Melbourne Cup performance. Wayne doesn't feed the chooks very often, so maybe he is simply saying it like it is.Nah. You're probably right, Chooks will eat anything.
scott
Guest
Not as far as I know. The biggest difference for Reed is that now he's playing outside a decent half instead of a winger. Wayne gave him a bit of extra motivation this year but honestly, the bastard child of GI, Mal Meninga and Justin Hodges would have looked terrible playing outside Hoffman.
Jackson Henry
Roar Guru
Fair enough.
The eye
Guest
Tipped to win by 40..can't think of a more appropriate time for the Broncos to begin their annual slide out of contention..
up in the north
Roar Rookie
Good ol' uncle Wayne is feeding the Chooks again. Just a bit of negative criticism to light a fire under his boys. Can't believe Jack Read is actually impressing me this last month or so, is his contract due for renewal?
eee
Guest
Cows? Manly?
Jay C
Roar Guru
He said humiliating. So I'm assuming he wanted to play.
Jackson Henry
Roar Guru
Fair enough. A misinterpret from over here.
Jay C
Roar Guru
Hope you're right BJ. A flogging is the one thing the Broncos haven't done.
Bronco Juggernaut
Guest
Nothing humiliating about the sharks lost since they beat an almost full strength Roosters the week after as well in similar fashion. Also your continuous barrage of hate comments towards the Broncos is getting old 'eye'.
Bronco Juggernaut
Guest
Calm down guys the Broncos should rack up 40 points tonight.
Jay C
Roar Guru
Hey don't get me wrong. Some of my worst friends are Sharks supporters. I don't hate the Sharks. They don't matter to me. He just poked the bear. It's only play. Everyone gets a bit serious on here.
Jackson Henry
Roar Guru
Come on Jay, some of the most insightful commentators on here are Sharks supporters, well I've found anyway. Nothing wrong with supporting them. I agree with you on Their Captain, in addition to the fact that Rothfield uses his massive microphone to push their barrow, which is an advantage a lot of other teams don't have. The Ricky Stuart thing didn't help either, granted. But apart from that, they're alright. Rugby league is always the winner at the end of the day and I think the game is richer because of them.
Johnny1
"Short turn around from Sunday's game against Storm",excuse me you had a rest from your usually reserved game which should have been on the Friday night,it was moved because you had a couple of players in SOO. You want it all ways ,what a whinger! nothing really ever suits you does it?
Jay C
Roar Guru
Supporting the Sharks. That is humiliating.
Jay C
Roar Guru
When have I bagged the Knights? I have thanked their fans and management for treating the best coach in history like dirt. They are a top 8 team. Also, losing 1 game against a very peppy team is not humiliating. Having never lifted a trophy. That is humiliating. How long has it been now? Seems like forever. Because it is. Having your coach suspended because he was drugging his players. That is humiliating. Having half your team suspended for the same. That is humiliating. Having next year printed on the inside of every jersey you have ever worn. That is humiliating. Having your halfback kicked out of the comp for pi$$ing in his own mouth. that is humiliating.