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If the Broncos weren’t aware of the level at the very top end of the NRL, they are now. They went down 15-4 to Penrith to kick off Indigenous Round, their third loss in four, and yet, again, came out of it as a better footy side.
The Panthers have been the benchmark for several years and are properly motoring now, turning in a performance of classic Clearyball dominance both through Ivan’s ideas on control in defence and patience in attack and Nathan’s ability to enact them.
This was a seasons-best from the halfback, and on the eve of Origin. He hit a personal milestone – the youngest to 1300 points in first grade – and showed every facet of his game: creatively with the ball, taking on the line, controlling with the boot and muscling up in defence.
“We dominated field position and possession,” said Ivan. “We didn’t have the polish tonight but in terms of how we like to play the game, I thought we did a decent job. It was a decent win.
“Early (in the year) we lost a couple of close ones but we were playing OK, just not consistently enough to how we like to play – the last three weeks have been more like that.
“After a disappointing loss to the Tigers, I felt we have responded well and been a bit more like how we like to play.”
Brisbane couldn’t go with Penrith in the end, but the manner in which they defended mountains of pressure can only leave Kevin Walters feeling that his team are going to be something special.
“It’s all learning for us,” said the coach. “They’ve been doing it for three or four years now and we’re just coming into all that. It was a good lesson.”
Though they went 7-1 prior to losing to South Sydney at the end of last month, it is the run of poor results since that have been more impressive. The first two months were a rails run, a confidence-building exercise for the attack.
This was the real stuff, the football that wins finals, and though they lost now, it will help them win in the future.
“We’re one from the last four, but it’s not alarming,” said Walters.
“We’d have preferred to win more but I’m OK with where we are. When we get it right, and we will get it right in September, we’re going to be OK.
“If you’d have said at the end of September last year when everyone was throwing bricks at us that, after 12 rounds, we’d have won eight games, I reckon you’d take that from a Broncos position.”
Brisbane did so without Adam Reynolds, too, ruled out with injury. Had he played, they might have been able to turn early pressure into points and forced the scoreboard pressure onto Penrith.
Instead, they succumbed to first Jarome Luai and then Cleary, who both created tries.
It might have been more. Penrith had multiple tries disallowed in the first half as they camped on the Broncos’ line.
But also, it might have been closer. At 14-4, a bizarre bunker call took a try off Brisbane that could have sparked a comeback: Kotoni Staggs thought he had scored and the Bunker agreed, only for referee Adam Gee to query the video call and find an obstruction in the build-up. The right call was found, albeit not through the traditional methods.
This was a lesson in efficiency from Penrith. The Broncos were clearly bang up for the game and fired into early tackles, at times halting the Panthers within their own 30 and forcing them to kick away.
The defence provoked attacking opportunities for Brisbane, but their lack of clinicality – no Reynolds, remember – saw last tackle options wasted twice.
Needless to say, Nathan Cleary didn’t let that happen. On the Panthers’ first serious attack, they scored through Sunia Turuva.
On their second, they should have, and but for a miracle tackle to dislodge the ball from Moses Leota, they would have. On their third, they came away with two from a penalty goal.
What everyone knows about Penrith is their defence. On the limited occasions in the first half where Brisbane got towards their end, the solidity was on full display to keep them out for five tackles, and then the lack of a top-class halfback was evident on the last.
While Jock Madden had a decent game, he’s not Reynolds. Ezra Mam and Reece Walsh are great talents, but they’re nowhere near the kicking threat of their captain.
The lack of points from the Panthers, for once, wasn’t a result of their attack not quite coming together, rather exceptional work from the Broncos to stop them.
And as ever, they just kept on at it and eventually got their rewards. The truth, as Ivan Cleary has known all along, is that the attack only really needs to be on in September, especially if the defence is on all the time.
This is becoming a bit of a theme for the Broncos. For the third time, they’ve faced a Premiership contender, a real big gun, and for the third time, they’ve lost.
But every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way, so let’s pick these apart.
Against Souths, they struggled to deal with the game’s best attack and were eventually run over the top of – admittedly without Payne Haas and Ezra Mam, who were suspended.
Against the Storm, they lost Reynolds early, then endured three sin bins that hamstrung their ability to compete – but compete they did, with only finishing and discipline the difference.
So what did we learn here? Well, for one, there is improvement. For a long period, this was the best of the three showings, going toe-to-toe and set-for-set with the masters of grinding, defensive footy.
The pressure that the Broncos were under was immense. Penrith played almost perfectly for an hour, with next to no errors and domination of both field position and the ball, but the Brisbane defence largely held firm.
To concede just two tries in that period in the face of such an onslaught says everything.
It’s worth remembering how far this side has come. When the Panthers began their period of dominance, Brisbane were the worst defensive team in the comp and liable to fold like deckchairs at the slightest push.
There was a whiff of a comeback in attack, but it was never likely given the energy extended in keeping the score respectable. A count of zero line breaks to five told everything about who was most likely to win.
The last three weeks have shown that, despite the huge improvements, the Broncos remain a rung down from the proper heavyweights. But the trajectory is there. They’re probably still a year off, but it’s coming.
Penrith are at the tail end of, or still in the middle of their Premiership phase. Souths are moving into theirs and the Storm seemingly never leave one. Kevvie will know that his is just opening, and that’s fine.