The Gold Coast were up to their eye balls at half-time. They only trailed by 2 and with Walsh off the field it seemed like the Broncos would struggle to score anymore points.
That opening passage after half-time was always going to be important and it was the Broncos that muscled up. They played direct and executed a simple kick-chase and that was enough to conjure up points. The Gold Coast are scrambling well under Hannay's 'pendulum' defensive system but they need to have more confidence under the high ball.
Ezra's still struggling for the Broncos but has enough skill to make an impact. I thought Staggs stepped up in the absence of Walsh and Arthars surprised everyone at the back. Congratulations to Verhoeven as well who made his debut off the bench. He had some nice early touches but he's clearly green and as the game wore on he started to resemble a baby reindeer. I expect we'll see more of him in 2027.
There were some decent signs for the Gold Coast, it's just a matter of playing to their strengths. They looked lost at times and struggled to find the exclamation point. If they're going to have success in the future it's going to come off the back of Kini, Campbell, Tino etc. I thought Kini and Tino in particular didn't have their best games.
