The first weekend of rugby league is wrapped up and there is much to discuss. The main talking point comes out of the second game, as the Broncos were rolled in a ten-point defeat by the Sydney Roosters.
The Broncos were outplayed in their season opener, statistically and visibly. The ball was certainly in Brisbane’s half for most of the contest, and the error count didn’t help, as Red Hill finished with a whopping 14 errors, compared to the Chooks’ eight. A six-error difference doesn’t look unbelievable, but it is huge in a game like Sunday’s when teams are fighting desperately for every inch over their opponent.
The Broncos deserved the loss, as the Roosters were by far the superior team.
Sydney controlled the ruck much better and gave Brisbane’s attack little to nothing. Every time the Broncos had the ball in their hands, they were running from deep in their own half, and the times when they had chances down the other end, their attack just looked flat.
The only real positive that a Broncos fan can take out of this match, is their strong defence on their line, especially in the first sixty minutes. They did well to hold the Roosters to only eight points in the first half, after all the ball the Chooks had.
The Player of the Match for Brisbane was Deine Mariner, as he was as close as you could get to perfect. He was a huge part of that strong right-side defence and was one of the small group of Brisbane players that looked dangerous with the footy.
The most disappointing player from the Broncos was Ezra Mam. Mam set the tone for a poor game early, when he handed Joey Manu four points on a platter. I understand it was partially Pat Carrigan’s fault for possibly running the wrong line, but that pass should not have been thrown.
Ezra was poor during the whole game in attack, as he was very flat with the ball and his decision-making was not up to par. This was not a game for Adam Reynolds to remember either, as his decision-making on fifth tackle was horrendous.
Reynolds kicked more than a few midfield bombs that travelled a maximum of 15 meters in the air. After one or two, you’d think he would understand that kicking downfield to try and win the field position battle is the better option.
Selwyn Cobbo’s average game proved that centre is not his best position and should be moved back out onto the wing immediately, in exchange for Mariner. Mariner’s well-played game had nothing to do with him being on the wing and he can do even more damage in the centres.
Mariner and Cobbo could be a lethal wing/centre duo, as Deine has the ability to break tackles and poke his head through the holes of the defensive line. Having Selwyn on his outside to give the ball off to will be supreme.
The Broncos are a long way away from hitting a panic button, however, it felt like the 2020-21 attack all over again. Their flatness with the ball was an unpleasant sight to see and needs to be fixed. The Broncos have a week and a half to prepare for their home opener against the Rabbitohs in round two, so there is no excuse for not being more ready than ever to notch their first win of the season.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
I was a big fan of Tapau a few years back . He carried the Manly pack but he was pretty ordinary in his last year or two , just going thru the motions it seemed. He seemed to go fairly well at the Broncos last season but I don't think he'll be that much use this year. He's lost the fire in the belly and all traces of aggro.
mushi
Roar Guru
Victor looked like he dropped the stupid from his game. Got under the ball a lot with his shots and I so thought it was him that had caused the melee. He is now hitting the age where a guy's mind realises what is and isn't stupid so hopefully I'll eat my words on his decision making.
mushi
Roar Guru
That's a good point. If one head knock throws the middle out then you're in the lap of the injury gods all season
mushi
Roar Guru
He made a couple of runs but the issue was the middle didn't really give him a platform.
Don
Roar Rookie
They missed Farnworth, but didn't miss Capewell. Not the Capewell that played the 2023 season anyway. Losing Piakura so early meant Carrigan had to go to an edge. Walters will give Cobba another go at centre. His effort (and Mam's) wasn't as dire as the author has described.
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
Well unfortunately we can't test the counterfactual so it's only opinion and mine is the Broncs score by stretching the defence laterally. Walsh is a huge factor here . His speed spreads the D line . Gaps follow. The Broncs will score twice as many points next time they meet the Roosters. I do agree though that Herbbie will be missed . He is great with the tough carry.
Succhi
Roar Rookie
I think the Roosters played well, and Billy Smith will improve the team. I think their weakness will be ill disciplined forwards. Spencer likely to get a suspension, JWH say no more and Victor was a little lucky escape being put on report for a couple of tackles. As for the Broncos, the opposition would have done their homework on Ezra and Walsh the only real attacking threats. Both still young, signing big contracts and will feel the pressure this year.
Short Memory
Roar Rookie
Hmmm. The only try in this match that wasn't scored on the outside was Joey Manu's intercept. The Bronco's got owned in the forwards. Unless they were planning to run around the Chooks all match it's hard to see how the narrower field was responsible for that. They really seemed to miss Flegler and Capewell - and even Herbie - bringing the ball out of their end.
Albo
Roar Rookie
Baker is far too slow for an edge spot !
Albo
Roar Rookie
Yep ! Their pack was very ordinary especially once Piakura went off and Carrigan was pushed to the edge. Haas was average by his standards, and Tapou did nothing . Willison might have been better value out there. And the Broncos definitely missed Flegler & Capewell from their GF team. So, it made things tough on the Broncos backline . Mam & Reynolds had little room to create anything . Only Walsh had enough class to create the odd opportunity. It was only match one for the year, and they will be back soon enough once they get back to Suncorp.
Nat
Roar Guru
Not sure about Corey in the backrow but they do miss his meters coming out of trouble. His lateral movement and defensive decisions might be an issue. I was actually thinking Staggs could be a fall back option?
Dutski
Roar Guru
Baker played basically no backrow at the Roosters - that might also speak to the roster situation there which is plenty of backrow options and light on for props. Could the Corey Oates second row experiment be revived?
Nat
Roar Guru
It was disappointing but I’m not overly concerned at this stage. They have that game in them whereby if things don’t go their way and Reyna’s boot is a bit off then passes are pushed things go pear shaped. For mine the Piakura incident changed their game too much. “If only” doesn’t change the scoreboard so they will have to run drills to make sure if that happens again they have a comfortable plan.
Nat
Roar Guru
Backrow is the one position they are a bit light on. Their top 30 really only lists Baker as backrow behind Piakura and Riki. I was buoyed to see Josh Stuckey get a call up in the trials. He dominated Q Cup a few years back in NQ, got a gig with the Dogs but only played once (to my recollection). He’s just got back to Wynnum now but he would be the guy Kevvie should be looking at. However, I think he is one of those ‘after rnd 10’ players.
souvalis
Roar Rookie
In all probability that Rooster performance would have done in Penrith as well. Very impressive continuous physicality for the entire period really hammered the Broncos particularly the spine. Cheese and Suaali, May and Victor will have put a few Brisbane players in the no contact singlets at training this week.
astro
Roar Rookie
Nothing to worry about for the Broncos. Robinson had announced weeks ago that the Roosters wouldn't start another season half-asleep, and he had them ready to roll from game 1. The Broncos looked rusty, but will be fine in a few weeks.
rakshop
Roar Rookie
I actually think its both. Its a blip - the narrower field really stymied the Broncos ability to spread the ball wide. It was noticeable that the Roosters were playing up and in on Walsh which limited his ability to get on the outside. Against weaker sides and on a full size field this is going to be much less of a problem. Also, losing Piakrua so early disrupted the ideal bench rotation and the Roosters dominated field position for large stretches of the match. In isolation, these arent issues long term. However..... I also believe the game highlighted a systemic issue that the Broncos cant solve which will end up being fatal for their chances in 2024 (and possibly beyond). I have said this over and over again in my comments, but I believe the Broncos look really light in their forward depth. Their starting 17 looks good, but they seem to be one injury away from being badly exposed. Losing Piakura in the 3rd minute of the game is always going to impact your bench rotation and forward structure. That in itself is not systemic and should be viewed in isolation of one game. But it highlighted the exact problem the Broncos will have this year. Hypothetically, what if Piakura went down with a serious knee injury? Even worse, what happens if Haas or Carrigan get long term injuries? It almost feels like if the Broncos lose one of Haas, Carrigan, Piakura or Riki - there isnt much depth to cover those loses. Haas and Carrigan are irreplaceable, but it was interesting that when Piakura went down, Kevin Walters didn’t trust Hetherington or Baker to shift out wide. Rather he elected to promote Jensen to lock (aka third front rower) and shift Carrigan out. I thought Jensen played well in the minutes he got, but the fact that he had two options, one in Baker that would have been a literal like-for-like replacement, and preferred taking Carrigan out of this primary role, probably raised the eyebrows of every other coach in the NRL. Last year if Carrigan or Haas went down, Flegler filled void and Jensen (and a lesser extent, Tapau) could be brought into the backup bench position. This year, both Jensen AND Tapau are not your back up options – they both have to play in the starting 17. Last year they had Rikki, Capewell, Palisia and Piakrua all challenging for the same back row positions. All four would be in the starting 17. The Broncos don’t have that luxury this year.
Dutski
Roar Guru
A big factor for the Broncos was the loss of Piukura early with a head knock. Having a middle heavy bench meant shifting Carrigan wide and losing his impact. I think that upset their plans and style of play more than anything else. Wonder if they even have any other second rowers at the club???
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
The issue for the Broncos isn't how they went in round 1, it's how they rebound in round 2, 3, etc. They've got the Rabbitohs at home then the Panthers in Sydney, so not the easiest opposition. Assuming Kevvie can identify the issues and the players can sort them out, the Broncos should be back to winning ways pretty quicky. They've got way too many quality players to be down for long.
Stewy76
Roar Rookie
Nothing to worry about for the Broncs. It's simple, the chooks played very well and Brisbane didn't. Even then, the game could have gone either way with 10 minutes to go.