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ANALYSIS: Broncos stutter as Sticky fires up Raiders for their performance of the year

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Editor
8th April, 2023
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Brisbane’s winning start has come to an end against a fired up Raiders outfit that fought them into the ground and came out as 20-14 victors.

It was a superb showing from Canberra, who toughed it out early and clung on late to grab a much-deserved win.

They had come in for mountains of criticism in the week after a humbling at home to Penrith and a disappointing start to the year, but were clearly well up for the challenge of facing the unbeaten Broncos on their own patch.

The sight of Jordan Rapana, covered in his own blood after copping a Marty Taupau knee to the head following the bravest of brave catches, was symbolic of the commitment on show.

“That is how I expect us to play every week, even with so many players out,” said Ricky Stuart, while absolving Taupau of intent in the late incident.

“I feel sorry for Marty Taupau – it was an accident. He didn’t mean to do that. He came looking for Jordy and spoke to his parents which is really nice of him. It was an unfortunate collision. These accidents happen in these games.”

The hosts were shell-shocked. Brisbane threw plenty at Canberra but were met with a wall of white and lime green jumpers. Adam Reynolds twisted an ankle early and, while he stayed on, was clearly less than full fitness. He passed up kicking duties late in the game, which perhaps told its own tale.

This was a bounce back to earth after a superb start to the year. The Broncos had dispatched all comers so far in 2023, but they were out-fought and out-enthused here. Their attack, which has flowed against poorer defences, failed them in the face of excellent Raiders tackling.

“We just weren’t good enough,” said Kevin Walters. “They outmuscled us. We weren’t in the fight from the start and we lacked a bit of energy.

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“The Raiders are a well-coached side and they played very well. I said to the guys winning becomes a habit. We expected they would be hurting, we just weren’t quite up to the challenge. It’s disappointing but that’s the way it is.

“Right from the kick-off we were a bit hesitant. We learnt a lesson tonight about playing footy.”

Canberra show their resilience

It was clear from the start that the Raiders meant business. For the first 15 minutes, the hosts were rattled by a Canberra side that turned up to play and play hard. 

Brisbane responded with grit and were met with more of it. The Raiders are among the toughest teams out there, and though that hasn’t always been on full display this year, it was tonight.

Down Jack Wighton and Joseph Topine, arguably their best two players, and with a Ricky Stuart spray ringing in their ears from last week, Canberra produced the sort of committed and competitive performance that Sticky has built a career on.

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The manner in which Rapana burrowed in for his second try, batting Jesse Arthars out of the way and then spraying him on the deck, was exemplary of the style of footy that Canberra had come to play. 

With 20 minutes to go, they withstood a serious glut of Broncos possession on their line and were barely troubled, shuttling across to force an error while staying diligent, before advancing 60m untroubled and making Brisbane come again.

There’s a lot to be said for tactics and coaching philosophies, but Stuart hasn’t really ever been one of those coaches. Canberra don’t have a discernible style of play in a footballing sense, but have a very distinct attitude.

It’s why they can look terrible one week and brilliant the next, or indeed, why they can fluctuate so wildly within individual games. Tonight, they were on and proved that they can be a match for anyone.

Brisbane bounce back to earth

What is the mark of a champion team? Plenty would tell you that it is the ability to win when not at your best. If that’s true, then Brisbane might have an issue.

Last week was Brisbane at their sparkling best, but it was hard to avoid thinking that they had been allowed to look good; the Wests Tigers are a clown car at the best of times and last Saturday night was close to their worst.

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Despite putting 46 points on the Tigers, there was still a feeling that the Broncos left tries out there. The week before against the Dolphins, too, and in the first half against the Dragons, there was deficiencies in the performance that were masked by ultimately positive results.

Tonight that came home to roost. Canberra’s relentless pressure deeply unsettled Brisbane, and they managed it without putting on anything particularly special: just hard, intense, aggressive footy. 

Adam Reynolds sent kicks long and out on the full, impacted by pressure from Raiders players. Reece Walsh and Payne Haas tried hard, but were shut down effectively. 

When faced with an opposite that threw back, a few of the softer parts of Brisbane’s play in recent years came back. Notably, the Raiders were able to score three tries from hardly any ball in the opposition end, which was a hallmark of the bad Broncos.

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