Nick Kenny says Broncos need to harden up for Cowboys game
Steve Ricketts | February 28, 2010 11:00pm
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HARD-HITTING prop Nick Kenny yesterday warned that the Broncos faced a Johnathan Thurston onslaught in Friday week's NRL round 1 blockbuster at Suncorp Stadium unless they lifted their "physicality" for the 80 minutes. Kenny said two tries scored from kicks by Queensland Cup club Redcliffe at Dolphin Oval on Saturday night were "too easy", hinting at trouble ahead from Thurston.
The Cowboys star was in great touch in North Queensland's 22-4 thrashing of the Gold Coast Titans in Darwin on Saturday following a man-of-the-match effort in the All Stars game.
Redcliffe hooker Mick Roberts was made to look like Thurston by lazy Broncos defence with the 30-year-old scoring a try himself and setting up two others with his boot.
Brisbane won 30-20 after racing to a 20-0 lead.
"Those tries were definitely too easy," Kenny said. "There wasn't enough pressure put on Mick when there should have been.
"Him and (fullback) Ryan Cullen sniff out any sort of opportunity when the defence is lacking and that is where they got us.
"There were a few lapses and that's something we will have to work on. For the majority of the game there was a lot of intensity and good talk, and a lot of physicality.
"But it wasn't there for the whole game. There were a couple of parts where it slackened off, and that's just not good enough.
"The intensity we're searching for, that we found a couple of times, we really need to maintain that for the whole game."
Coach Ivan Henjak said the Broncos were strong in the middle while Kenny, Sam Thaiday and Corey Parker were on the field and Ben Te'o also impressed, particularly in the second half.
Henjak said the starting pack of Kenny, Andrew McCullough, Thaiday, Te'o, Matt Gillett and Parker would be hard to shift, but Josh McGuire would come into the picture after missing the game through illness.
Kenny said new signing Gillett, who played much of the game with a knee injury, impressed his teammates.
"His running was really good and he has good footwork," Kenny said.
Skipper Darren Lockyer declared himself a certain starter against the Cowboys despite requiring 12 stitches for a nasty head wound, the result of an elbow from a teammate in a tackle.
But after just 45 minutes on the field in the pre-season, Lockyer's game will be fine-tuned by several intense, opposed sessions.
"I just can't get past the 20-minute mark lately," Lockyer said. "Fitness isn't an issue. It's just getting my combination with (halfback) Peter Wallace and timing in defence."
Wallace (knee) also retired early against Redcliffe in his only trial, but is expected to play on Friday week.
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