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Cowboys fullback Scott Drinkwater is facing up to four matches on the sideline for his shoulder charge on Broncos winger Corey Oates that saw him leave the field with a suspected broken jaw during the Cowboys’ 28-16 loss on Friday night at Suncorp Stadium.
He will miss three matches if he accepts the early guilty plea, while Oates is set to undergo surgery today after scans confirmed a “displaced fracture” to the jaw, and faces a recovery period of six to eight weeks.
Teammate Peta Hiku faces a three-week suspension for an early crusher tackle on Oates, but will only miss two games if he doesn’t fight the charge.
It was the Reece Walsh and Ezra Mam show as the Broncos took out bragging rights in the local derby against the North Queensland Cowboys, securing back-to-back wins for the start of the season.
In a wet and slippery match, the home side handled the conditions better than their little brother, showing more control and composure compared to the Cowboys’ errors and frustrations. In their first game playing together with Walsh in his debut for the club, Mam and Walsh lit up the game and looked as if they had been teammates forever, forging a left-side partnership that would have Broncos fans excited.
“He (Walsh) did his job, that’s what the good players do,” said Broncos coach Kevin Walters.
“And we’re all very proud of him for the performance he put up. He has good speed, good awareness and he loves the game.”
The Cowboys started the match in a similar fashion to last week – hard, fast, and with early points on the board. Jason Taumalolo was “in a mood” according to Fox Commentator Michael Ennis, with the wrecking ball leading the way for his side. With an 8-0 after 18 minutes, it was all one-way traffic.
But as the minutes ticked on the Broncos found their groove. Two quick tries before halftime saw the teams head to the sheds locked at 10-all, with momentum well and truly with the home side.
The Cowboys found themselves down to 12 men after Drinkwater was sin-binned for the Shoulder charge on Oates. Two more tries to Brisbane within the first ten minutes of the second half gave them a ten-point lead, and a penalty kick with eleven to go saw the scoreboard reach 22-10 scoreline.
Try scoring machine Jeremiah Nanai got the Cowboys back within striking distance, but Walsh returned serve with three minutes to go, and the Broncos made it 2/2 for season 2023.
“That wasn’t a very good incident, to have in our game, the shoulder charge,” said Walters. “It will be interesting to see what happens.”
Broncos skipper Adam Reynolds thought the sin bin wasn’t enough. “It’s hard, everything happens at high speed, when you look at the replay, it doesn’t look good,” said Reynolds.
“For us, we lose a player for the entire game and a number of weeks probably. Whether ten minutes is justifiable, I don’t know.”
But Walters is leaving his faith in the judiciary. “We will leave that in the NRL’s hands. They’re capable and we trust them.”
Cowboys coach Todd Payten was quick to defend his fullback and the ten-minute punishment.
“It was certainly an accident…..no intent…..the kid was just doing his best to stop a try,” said Payten. “I’m happy with the sin binding, as long as it’s consistent.”
I think Adam Reynolds has found his perfect halves partner.
20-year-old Mam has stepped into the Broncos’ number six jersey with a huge weight of pressure on him. Not only was it worn in the past by club legends like Wally Lewis and Darren Lockyer, but it also now stands for who is working alongside the eleven-year veteran and Brisbane’s general.
He was everywhere, involved in everything, grabbed himself two tries, and seemed to have the ball on a string.
The future looks bright for Brisbane.
And then there was this guy.
Walsh was instrumental to the Broncos in their win and looked right back at home in the number one jersey for Brisbane. One try, two assists and about 1000 touches of the ball.
“He was on another level tonight,” said Fox commentator Greg Alexander.
“He was electric,” added Corey Parker. “Some of the plays, some of the movements, both of the left foot and right foot. What a debut for Walsh.”
So much talent, and the possibilities are endless.
When Drinkwater was marched for ten, eyebrows were raised when centre Peta Hiku was moved to fullback, for some reason instead of the Cowboys’ other centre and former number one Valentine Holmes.
While Holmes has been superb since his move to the centres, to many he was the safer and obvious choice to move out the back while Drinkwater was in the bin. The former fullback for the Cowboys was left in his spot, while Hiku struggled out the back, knocked on, and turned the ball over more than once, and no doubt counted every second of the ten minutes until Drinkwater returned.
Coach Kevin Walters was always in for a headache when it came to picking his hooker. His son Billy got the nod for this match as well as last week, but has seemed slow with not a lot of go forward.
When Corey Paix came on with 15 minutes left of the first half, the team lifted. He was fast out of dummy half, and the Brisbane attack was flowing a lot smoother and began to fire.
It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few rounds.