Round 6 vs. Dolphins Discussion

[Big Pete]

Brisbane Broncos vs. Dolphins
Suncorp Stadium, Friday 12 April 2024
Kick Off: 8:00pm

1. Reece Walsh 2. Corey Oates 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Selwyn Cobbo 5. Jesse Arthars 6. Ezra Mam 7. Jock Madden 8. Corey Jensen 9. Billy Walters 10. Fletcher Baker 11. Jaiyden Hunt 12. Jordan Riki 13. Patrick Carrigan

14. Tyson Smoothy 15. Xavier Willison 16. Kobe Hetherington 17. Tristan Sailor

18. Martin Taupau 19. Benjamin Te Kura 20. Jordan Pereira 21. Blake Mozer 22. Josiah Karapani

1. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow 2. Jamayne Isaako 3. Jake Averillo 4. Tesi Niu 5. Jack Bostock 6. Kodi Nikorima 7. Isaiya Katoa 8. Jesse Bromwich 9. Jeremy Marshall-King 10. Thomas Flegler 11. Kenny Bromwich 12. Euan Aitken 13. Ray Stone

14. Josh Kerr 15. Anthony Milford 16. Mark Nicholls 17. Jarrod Wallace

18. Oryn Keeley 19. Sean O'Sullivan 20. Mason Teague 21. Valynce Te Whare 22. Lachlan Hubner​

 

[Big Pete]

Reece Walsh is set to return for the Battle of Brisbane after suffering a facial fracture a three weeks ago against the Penrith Panthers. It's welcome news after Adam Reynolds suffered a hamstring injury in the Broncos 34-32 loss against the Melbourne Storm.

The other positive story is the return of Xavier Willison who will come in for Ben Te Kura. The selection has frustrated Broncos fans who felt Te Kura should have retained his spot on the bench and it should have been Fletcher Baker who should have made way. Walters is clearly giving Baker every opportunity after an up and down start to his Broncos career.

Another controversial selection was the decision to retain Tristan Sailor in the 17. Kevie promised he'd keep an outside back on the bench after the Reece Walsh injury and he's made good on that promise. Now we just need to see whether he can get any value out of the selection or whether it's a case of too many chefs in the kitchen.

With the amount of injuries and the stricter concussion protocols, I'm surprised the NRL have kept it a 17 man game. I would have thought they'd at least be more flexible with the 18th man and made him a reserve. I think it's only a matter of time before you see the 18th man activated as soon as a HIA is ordered and they can play during that 15 minute process or sub in the entire game.

As it stands, it's a light bench so the outside backs will need to step up. Corey Oates gets an opportunity to fill in for Deine Mariner which could be a blessing in disguise. The Broncos have struggled to make metres out of their own end and that's Oatesy's speciality, it's just a question of whether he's overcome his injury issues as he was noticeably slower in 2023.

Both Cobbo and Staggs will need to step up here. It's a favourable match-up and neither had the impact they should have against Melbourne.

Madden will also return after representing Wynnum on the weekend. Madden was solid without being spectacular in the Seagulls win against the Devils and he'll need to build on that performance for the Broncos.

 

[MRN]

Should have kept Te Kura and brought back Willison at the expense of Baker.

 

[Big Pete]

Brisbane Broncos 28 (Selwyn Cobbo 2, Xavier Willison, Corey Oates, Reece Walsh tries; Reece Walsh 4/5 goals) def. Dolphins 14

3-3

It was a scrappy performance but in the end the Broncos had too much strike for an under-strength Dolphins side. The Broncos started poorly, Isaako was able to win a penalty off of Baker and through their kicking game were able to earn repeat set after repeat set. Brisbane were stretched on multiple occassions but they scrambled well and eventually brought the game back to the balance.

Brisbane were unlucky not to receive first points. Reece Walsh created a nice overlap with a trademark draw and pass to give Arthars a slight chance down the sideline. Arthars was ruled to have lost the ball but appeared to have maintained contact through out the process. In fairness to the officials, Arthars didn't apply that much pressure but it was a close call.

After both teams went tit for tat, it was eventually the Dolphins who scored after an error from Corey Oates. Oates had an opportunity to play on his trademark left wing position and looked well short of a gallop out-wide. Oates made four errors and eventually stopped contesting kicks since he had lost faith in his ability to catch them. Oates did enjoy a better second half which he opened with a trademark try but fans can understand why Walters has been hesitant to play him out there.

Brisbane eventually scored right on the shadows of half-time through Xavier Willison. The Broncos were very light in the forwards, but they'd be happy with the performances of Xavier Willison (164m, 83m Post-Contact, 6 Tackle-Breaks, 18 Tackles) and Kobe Hetherington (31 Tackles, 7 Runs For 72m). They allowed the Broncos to enjoy some success in the middle and that's eventually where they were able to win some set restarts which took their toll on the defence.

Brisbane never clicked into gear but they didn't have to as the Dolphins made a series of errors which all led to tries for the Broncos. The run-away try to Reece Walsh, one that was eerily reminiscent of the Staggs try from 2023 proved to be the dagger and Brisbane quickly raced in a few more. After that Brisbane seemingly pulled the pin taking Jordan Riki and Ezra Mam off-the field all the while the Dolphins scored two quality tries to add some respectability to the scoreline.

Some other notes:

- In a bizarre moment, Corey Oates attempted to run the length of the field despite the referee calling the play back. In trying to chase him down it appeared Tabuai-Fidow injured himself which proved a costly blow for the Dolphins.

- Ezra Mam appeared to suffer an ankle injury in an awkward tackle by Kenny Bromwich. It was cleared of being a hip drop tackle, even though all the elements were there. Watch this space.

- Broncos fans have seen enough of Fletcher Baker and Jaiyden Hunt. Hunt in particular bombed a certain try when he allowed Kodi Nikorima to knock the ball out of his grasp when he was over the line. Baker gave away that early penalty, threw a bad offload when Walters wasn't looking and came up with an error during his second stint. With Willison having a career game, the pressure is on.

- Anthony Milford was lucky to stay on the field after a cheap shot on Walsh without the ball. It appeared to be a case of halves receiving a lighter sentence - if that was Kaufusi the reaction would be completely different.