To set the scene, in 2020 the Broncos finished last and lost David Fifita to the Titans.
The worst team from 2020 then has the toughest draw in the competition in 2021.
The Broncos have already played five games against top-four teams in the opening rounds – the Eels twice, and the Storm, Panthers and Souths. They have also played the Titans, Bulldogs and now the Titans again. A par result for the Broncos is two or three wins from the opening eight rounds.
It has felt like a feeding frenzy with every man and their dog picking at the Broncos’ carcass this week. Well, there was one surprise.
Rather than kicking a Bronco while he is down, Brad Fittler called it for what it was: a ridiculous, unfair draw.
Unfair or not, the Broncos needed a win. For the Titans, they were looking to consolidate their spot inside the top eight.
Amid wet Brisbane weather, the Broncos and Titans put on a display of attacking footy we may not see again for a very long time.
Up 22-0 in the opening quarter, the Titans were scintillating. I had no idea they were that good in attack, particularly the kicking game of the halves. Jamal Fogarty is a maestro with the boot and had the ball on a string. What a player. Whenever I get the chance, I’ll be watching the Titans play.
(Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty Images)
Fogarty twice caught Jamayne Isaako out of position. Commentators even questioned if Isaako should be hooked from the field and replaced. Luckily, with coach Kevin Walters at the helm, Isaako remained at number one.
In the blink of an eye, the fastest momentum change you are likely to witness on a rugby league paddock took place.
Boom. At halftime it was all locked up at 22-22.
With draft-horse performances from Payne Haas and Tevita Pangai Jr leading the pack up the middle and keeping Fifita quiet, the Isaako stallion put the rest of the fullbacks in the NRL on notice using his lethal step to carve up Titans’ defence.
He is definitely a future spine player for the Broncos and could well do with some tutelage from Darren Lockyer and Karmichael Hunt to accelerate his growth as a fullback.
And what about the halves? As predicted by Darren Lockyer leading up to the game, Tyson Gamble and Anthony Milford would likely complement one another in game management and instinct. Lockyer was 100 per cent. The gamble paid off.
I was watching the Broncos of old again. There seemed to be a perfect gel between the forwards, the halves and the backs with electricity linking up for tries with perfectly timed passing and devastating run angles.
By the time the full-time whistle blew, the Broncos had run out 36-28 winners.
Both teams won me over. It was thoroughly entertaining rugby league with exceptional talents on show.
That said, with the heat off the Broncos for the moment, the focus in Queensland will shift sharply from the Brisbane Broncos to the Gold Coast Titans.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Justin Holbrook recognised the team is just leaking far too many points. The problem is simple: defence. The attack is fine.
What I particularly like is the honesty of the Broncos’ and Titans’ coaches. That is the hallmark of great teams.
The focus now turns to Titans assistant coach Jimmy Dymock. His job is to provide starch to the Gold Coast defence. So what is happening?
This has been going on for weeks now with no sign of improvement. Holbrook should recruit Peter Ryan as a part-time assistant coach so Dymock and Ryan can get the Titans to where they need to be.
Peter Ryan has helped rebuild the Queensland Reds’ pack into the dominant defence in the Australian Super Rugby competition. For a while he even split his time between the Broncos and the Reds so he may be open to trips down the M1.
If the Titans can get their defence in order, and the halves can learn to take control of the game in defence, like the Broncos, they can both still make the top eight. The Titans may have the best latent halves in the game, but may need mentorship from a great to become great.
The Broncos matched it with the Panthers three games ago. The Titans matched it with Souths last week. With a bit more work and belief, each team can follow in the footsteps of the Queensland Reds, and believe they are on the way to turning things around and climbing up the ladder.
The Barry
Roar Guru
I had a look at 2016 for no other reason than because it’s five years ago and 2011 because it’s five years before that In 2016, the top five teams lost six games against teams outside the top five In 2011 the top five teams lost eight It’s not quite a like for like comparison because I was looking at the top 5 at the end of the season rather than the top 5 at the end of round 8 For example the tigers lost three in 2011 before round 8 so they were a top 5 team at the end of the season, not top 5 at round 8…
matth
Roar Guru
In any comp where teams don’t play all others an equal amount there will be easier and harder draws because the draws simply cannot be equitable.
matth
Roar Guru
Have you looked at previous seasons to see if the Top 4 / Top 5 have had similar records after 8 rounds? I haven’t so I genuinely don’t know the answer, but I do recognize that the Panthers lost basically no games last year so that’s a start.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Typical misquoting to be a plastic hero But you’re quoting me as saying nothing changes, which I haven’t said. Just that results across 8 rounds have been predictable...
The Barry
Roar Guru
Sorry, let me make sure I’ve got this right... You’re ignoring the 29 from 30 record and 20-odd point average winning margin the top five teams have against teams 6th to 16th and holding up one game out of 62 played this season, that the Broncos lost anyway, at home as evidence the “bottom teams can match the top teams” That is what you’re saying right???? That’s spurious reasoning even by your low standards... :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: The funny thing is the other day you actually went away and produced data showing that over the last five seasons bottom four teams regularly beat top four teams...
The Barry
Roar Guru
29 from 30 now. Top 5 are 5 from 5 again this week for a combined margin of 172-64 (34-12 average score) As you keep gleefully pointing out, I admitted it when I got the “asterisk nonsense” wrong. When are you going to admit you’re wrong I think you’ll just keep waiting until games like 14th beats 7th or when the Storm or Roosters lose a game through Origin and say something clever like “see, you didn’t predict that did you mr predictable” We’ve had seven genuine upsets in eight rounds. The top five is 29 from 30. What’s happened in eight rounds that has been genuinely unpredictable or changed... - the Raiders have slipped from a top 6 team to a fringe 8 team - Manly have gone from getting regularly whipped to a fringe eight team I’m interested to hear what else...? I know it will go quiet now though...
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
makes one wonder eh?
The Barry
Roar Guru
What do you mean the talk of this comp being predictable has died down? As of now, the top 5 are 28 from 29 (and the roosters are up 20-4 at half time) against the REST OF THE COMP How predictable do you need it to be? How lop sided do you need it to be? For all the responses you’ve made to me on this subject, you’re yet to tell me how a 96% success rate for the top 5 teams is unpredictable It’s all well and good you calling me about five different names in your post but try and offer up one shred of evidence to support your opinion Show me ONE season that has been remotely close to as lop sided as this one after 8 rounds...?
Contego
Guest
As a Titans fan I’ll settle for 3 tries from Fifita - if he actually runs the ball in his own defensive half and makes more than 10 tackles
Joey
Guest
Yes very true, mighty big scalps those cows and titans.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Nobody said it was a close comp. Typical misquoting to be a plastic hero. All the talk a couple of weeks back was about how the new rules had made the comp predictable and they needed to be changed. That talk had died down, no doubt you will be the last to realise why that is and keep banging on about how predictable everything is. The rules didn't need to change to appease the panic merchants like yourself , the poorly performed outfits needed to improve and they have. If you want to keep pretending that nothing has changed since the first four rounds when Henny Penny was leading you around declaring the sky was dropping in then keep at it. Just like last season when you took forever to drop the asterisk nonsense , no doubt you will keep at it for another month or two and wake up. Mr Predictable is who you are. Things change and often quickly but your not aware of it.
Emcie
Roar Guru
"outside of QLD"? Nice cover mate, guess that means you don't have to count the three away wins against the cowboys and titans. I'd love to see a breakdown of how many out of state games Sydney clubs have won recently
Shadow
Roar Rookie
I hope you don't lose your taste for sour beer Nat. There's plenty more to come this season. :laughing:
Nat
Roar Guru
Are you saying the Broncos have been crap lately? Scything blow there mate cause no one else has been watching the last 2 yrs! :thumbup: How have Penrith been travelling lately, I haven't heard! :laughing:
Shadow
Roar Rookie
Currently, the Broncos are down on the aggregate scoreboard 221 vs 122 champ! :laughing:
Nat
Roar Guru
With a little research you’ll find those stats are far better than the Broncos previous average and on par with Melbourne. Other than that, don’t care. It’ll be sweet sweet beer all week.
Walter Black
Guest
BM Even in a competition where every team played every other team twice you could have a statistic like so it proves naught.
Popavalium Andropoff
Guest
Based on current form the Titans couldn’t beat the Bulldogs or the Tigers. Ash Taylor is a waste of money, and David Fifita is lazy - yes he’s scored hatricks on two occasions this season, but I think he’s convinced that scoring three a game is “enough to earn his keep” - David, we don’t want three tries a game, WE WANT SIX!
Shadow
Roar Rookie
"will the wombat who dived at Oates and elbowed him in the head after he scored and there was no need to make contact face the same sanctions as Mitchell" Only "Coogee Randwick Wombats" who play in the South Sydney District Junior competition in general and Rabbitohs specifically are the only endangered creatures at the NRL judiciary DPS. The "eastern suburbs connection" makes sure of that. That's why grubs like JWH and Victor Radley (Roosters) and Felise Kaufusi (Storm) keep escaping justice.
Adam
Roar Guru
:laughing: classic