Broncos
18
Match Complete
Titans
26
| J. Isaako |  | 77 | ||
| A. Milford |  | 77 | ||
| J. Isaako | | 69 | ||
| K. Staggs | | 67 | ||
| 65 | | T. Roberts | ||
| 63 | | B. Kelly | ||
| 54 |  | T. Roberts | ||
| 39 | | T. Roberts | ||
| 38 | | A. Don | ||
| J. Isaako | | 28 | ||
| J. Turpin | | 26 | ||
| 24 | | T. Roberts | ||
| 23 | | T. Roberts | ||
| 14 | | T. Roberts | ||
| 12 | | B. Kelly |
| 3 | Tries | 4 | ||
| 3 | Conversions | 4 | ||
| 0 | Penalty Goals | 1 | ||
| 0 | Field Goals | 0 |
The Brisbane Broncos will be out to keep stringing victories together when they take on a severley underwhelming Gold Coast Titans outfit, who are plastered to the bottom of the ladder. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 2pm (AEST).
It’ll be a rare home Sunday afternoon fixture for the Broncos when they run onto Lang Park chasing four wins in a row, as they look to continue a dramatic form reversal from a tough first half of 2019.
At one point, Brisbane looked to be joining the wooden spoon conversation, but all that talk has evaporated, with the club sitting on the edge of the top eight now.
Wins over the Manly Sea Eagles, Sydney Roosters and New Zealand Warriors have made fans sit up and take notice, particularly the last clash where they held the Auckland-based club tryless away from home.
That performance suggests this is a club starting to play for each other and their coach, and it’s no small surprise the arrival of Thomas Dearden has sparked it.
The young half, who replaced the outgoing Kodi Nikorima, has added some stability to their side, allowing Anthony Milford to play his natural game, while the forwards have all stepped up their game as well.
The big concern for Brisbane in this game is a slew of players backing up after Origin, while Joe Ofahengaue will also watch it from the sideline.
The Titans though, have been an absolute mess. Ashley Taylor will also now be missing for an unspecified amount of time for personal reasons, and with the Gold Coast attack already a mess, it’s not going to get any better.
They have just looked like they flat out don’t want to be there at times this year, and a horrific loss to the North Queensland Cowboys last week just continues the season from hell.
Ryley Jacks comes into the halves to join AJ Brimson and Tyrone Roberts as the sides creatives, but unless the Titans forwards can hold Brisbane, then they might as well not even walk on the field.
It’s down to getting a good start and make Origin-weary troops do a mountain of work, and that falls on players like Jarrod Wallace and Moeaki Fotuaika (who has been one of their best), to be on from the opening minutes.
Prediction
No matter what’s going against Brisbane, the Titans have been insipid and will slump to another loss at a ground which has not been kind to them over the years, winning just 6 out of 25 matches there against all opposition.
Broncos by 14.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of this Sunday afternoon fixture from 2pm (AEST) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.
Game information
Kick-off: 2pm (AEST)
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
TV: Live, Fox Cricket 501
Online: Live, Kayo Sports, Foxtel App, Foxtel Now
Betting: Broncos $1.30, Titans $3.50
Overall record: Played 25, Broncos 19, Titans 6
Last meeting: Round 17, 2018 – Titans 0 defeated by Broncos 34 at CBUS Super Stadium
Last five: Broncos 4, Titans 1
Record at venue: Played 13, Broncos 11, Titans 2
Referees: Chris Sutton, Phil Henderson
Brisbane Broncos
1. Darius Boyd 20. Richard Kennar 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Gehamat Shibasaki 5. Jamayne Isaako 6. Anthony Milford 7. Tom Dearden 8. Matthew Lodge 9. Jake Turpin 10. Payne Haas 11. Alex Glenn 15. David Fifita 13. Tevita Pangai
Interchange: 14. Andrew McCullough 16. Thomas Flegler 19. Jaydn Su’A 18. Patty Carrigan 21. Sean O’Sullivan 22. Shaun Fensom
Gold Coast Titans
1. Alexander Brimson 2. Anthony Don 3. Jesse Arthars 4. Brian Kelly 5. Dale Copley 6. Tyrone Roberts 20. Ryley Jacks 8. Jarrod Wallace 9. Mitch Rein 10. Moeaki Fotuaika 11. Kevin Proctor 12. Keegan Hipgrave 13. Jai Arrow
Interchange: 14. Tyrone Peachey 15. Shannon Boyd 16. Bryce Cartwright 17. Jai Whitbread 18. Jack Stockwell 21. Nathan Peats
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
Milford was in the halves for the junior Raiders teams but played FB for most of his 40 odd first grade games. Finished in the halves when they eased Terry Campese out with his chronic knee injuries. If he'd hung around I reckon he would have stayed in the halves. I reckon whoever asked Milford to bulk up has a bit to answer for. When he was lighter and more nimble he was dynamite when he made a break. Some of those long range tries he scored were a joy to watch.
Emcie
Roar Guru
No idea, but he's well below last year's form. Teams have also been targeting his edge a lot more this year, maybe that's just making him second guess himself a bit. I thought Macca showed a fair bit of improvement yesterday, took the right options, kicked more and was picking up metres through the middle. I don't think it's a bad thing for us to have some competition at 9
Emcie
Roar Guru
I’m not sure it’s responsibility so much as asking him to steer the side around is always going to lessen his attacking impact. There’s always going to be a trade off, you can’t have the best of both worlds. It certainly doesn’t help when you’ve got guys like Parker blowing up that it took him 75min to take on the line when he’s actually got 90m to his name, a couple offloads, tackle breaks and forced a couple repeat sets…
soapit
Roar Guru
True. So did inglis though and you wouldn’t really say he was a true top 5/8. That said I think he did play well as a 6 role back then (unlike inglis back then who just carved everyone no matter what number he had on). Responsibilty doesn’t seem to be good strong suit so I wonder if he isn’t better suited to bring a second option fullback like ponga
matth
Roar Guru
What’s happened to Isaako? He’s got a terrible case of the second year syndrome. I just think McCullough is stale. Turpin brings so much energy at the moment.
Emcie
Roar Guru
Fair enough, don’t really disagree with you there. Turpin’s been impressive (hell, I’d be tempted to throw him into origin at the moment), but he also came in as things really started to come together for the bronco’s. At the moment his enthusiasm is covering any gaps in his game but there are still things that he needs to work on (game management, tactical kicking, etc). I’m not sure it’s time to dump Macca just yet. I wouldn’t be concerned with either of them getting chucked in the halves though, we’ve still got a couple decent half backs on the books waiting for a chance. And I only asked if you watched the game cos I know you havn’t been able to catch a few (unless that’s someone else…), that didn’t really come out how I meant it. As for Oates, well, yeah, I’m more worried about what that says about Isaako’s current form…
Emcie
Roar Guru
He did get to a Grand Final at 6 (and was arguably best on field)
Rellum
Roar Guru
tries off unstructured play shows that our game plan is not threatening enough All that shows is the current players are not good enough to play off the cuff. Playing a more structured game will just make us more predictable.
soapit
Roar Guru
So Milford is definitely a half then? Did he play there much at Canberra? Wonder whether of the juries still out a bit on the switch
matth
Roar Guru
Emcie, I’m not criticizing Milf particularly, he is being asked to perform a role he’s not suited for. McCullough is a good player, but Turpin is adding more to the team. I watched the game. My comment on a half is for next week, now that Deatdan is out for 6 weeks. I’m saying don’t try to shoehorn Turpin or McCullough into a half position, pick a real half . Fifita has to start justifying his reputation. He’s being treated like a superstar and playing cameos. As for our backline, yes we’ve had injuries. That has nothing to do with my comment. With the troops we currently have in the field, Oates is the only one capable of providing a spark.
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
Titans looked a lot better without Taylor...
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
BA ha ha ahaaaaa
PNG Broncos fan88
Roar Guru
agree with matth - tries off unstructured play shows that our game plan is not threatening enough - Milf is not a dominant half, Turpin should have had more chances to be dominant (everything he did had a bit of x-factor and brilliance) - Macca is mud, been seeing it for the last 2 years (but the Dally M coach and super coach see differently) - Dearden not ready imo, O'Sullivan's chance to nail down the spot being the dominant playmaker and kicker - Flegler was immense before the errors, Lodge was terrible and Haas and Fifita had no energy - Seibold is vindictive, this is not a good trait to have as our coach. Shibasaki has made multiple errors every game he has played, but the coach says he's in better form than Jimmy. Stupid choice letting Roberts go to Souths. Whose the guy on the wing, did he eat Richie Kennar?
Emcie
Roar Guru
Reynolds is the half back doing sideline commentary in a completely different game to the one your team is playing the same night while out injured
Emcie
Roar Guru
Reckon you're being a bit harsh mate. - they scored 3 trys and had 3 or 4 denied, not sure that's "directionless". - Milf's never been a leader and that's not what he was brought in for. Not too many 24 Yr old halves are. - McCullough had a pretty good game considering its his first back from injury. Showed the most intent he has all year, ran 80m, put in a couple handy kicks and even picked up a try assist (and none of passes hit the turf just quietly) - we did start the game with a genuine half back, did you watch the game? We've had two hookers in the lineup since Seggy was signed and we've won 3 on the trot. - Fifita's 19 backing up from his first Origin. Not sure what you expected to be honest. - We're down the two first choice centres we started the year with, missing a rep winger and playing a guy on debut on the wing, you kinda expect the standard of the backline to drop don't ya?
Brendon Waldron
Roar Pro
Dearden is the half back who organises the play. Reynolds is... not that. He's not that at all.
Nico
Roar Rookie
With Deardon gone for the Broncs and Reynolds on the outer at Wests, could be a perfect match
Emcie
Roar Guru
He was the only half for 75 minutes mate. And easing a player returning early from injury isn't rare. Broncos crossed the line four or five times for no cigar, would have been a different game if the support players converted those chances. And it doesn't help when your team is getting penalised for tackling too hard...
matth
Roar Guru
Well my takes from that game for Brisbane are: - if Langer can’t get back in the field soon the Broncos will remain directionless. They missed him more than Dearden. - over and over again we see that Milf is not a leader. He should be running off a leader. - McCullough is really off NRL pace now and Turpin has another blinder. I hope the coach goes with the youngster. - pick a genuine halfback next week, don’t try to fit the two hookers in the one starting side. - good to see Jayden Su’a get a run - Fifita needs to become more than a cameo player. He didn’t back up well. - without Oates our backline is exposed as a group of solid player without a lot of spark.
Emcie
Roar Guru
They're not front rowers but they're still guys with high work rates. Loosing Dearden would have had a much bigger impact then those two though. Game plan's out the window, interchange plans down the drain and you have to redraw your defensive structures on the run.