FW1 vs. Melbourne Storm Discussion

[Big Pete]

Brisbane Broncos vs. Melbourne Storm
Suncorp Stadium, Friday 8 September 2023
Kick Off: 7:50pm

1. Reece Walsh 2. Jesse Arthars 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Herbie Farnworth 5. Selwyn Cobbo 6. Ezra Mam 7. Adam Reynolds 8. Thomas Flegler 9. Billy Walters 10. Payne Haas 11. Kurt Capewell 12. Jordan Riki 13. Patrick Carrigan

14. Tyson Smoothy 15. Brendan Piakura 16. Kobe Hetherington 17. Keenan Palasia

18. Corey Oates 19. Martin Taupau 20. Corey Jensen 21. Jock Madden 22. Tristan Sailor

1. Nick Meaney 2. William Warbrick 3. Marion Seve 4. Young Tonumaipea 5. Xavier Coates 6. Cameron Munster 7. Jahrome Hughes 8. Tui Kamikamica 9. Harry Grant 10. Christian Welch 11. Trent Loiero 12. Eliesa Katoa 13. Josh King

14. Bronson Garlick 15. Tom Eisenhuth 16. Nelson Asofa-Solomona 17. Ryan Papenhuyzen

18. Tyran Wishart 19. Tariq Sims 20. Tepai Moeroa 21. Reimis Smith 22. Grant Anderson​

 

[Big Pete]

It appears that Jesse Arthars has won the battle for the left wing spot over Corey Oates.

The bench is shaping up to be Smoothy, Piakura, Hetherington & Jensen.

Big call on Oates. Corey failed to play his best footy against the Raiders and the Storm but his ability to make ground inside his own half would have been invaluable in these big games.

 

[MRN]

Dobo reporting yesterday and today Palasia will get picked over Jensen on the bench.

 

[Big Pete]

Dobo reporting yesterday and today Palasia will get picked over Jensen on the bench.

Dobbo was right on the money, Palasia named ahead of Jensen with Arthars ahead of Oates.

Jensen is the more reliable option, but Palasia has the physical attributes that can really turn a game. I remember a story came out that Brisbane happened to have a negative differential when Jensen was on the field and that may have hurt his chances.

 

[Big Pete]

It's a brand new competition and that statement couldn't be more true for the Brisbane Broncos. They come face to face with the one team they failed to beat during the regular season and the one team that's had the wood on them since 2004.

In fact, it was 19 years ago Melbourne came from an 8-nil deficit to finish on top of the Broncos 31-14 in a Qualifying Final. On that evening it was young players like Billy Slater, Ryan Hoffman, Matt King who proved a handful and laid the foundation for years to come. Now it's players like Xavier Coates, Eliesa Katoa, Harry Grant who pose a serious threat and will put the Broncos under plenty of pressure.

For the Broncos, I'll be curious to see their composure. Melbourne are always strong in their effort areas such as kick-pressure, kick chase, scramble defence that put their opposition off their game. Brisbane need to complete high and take their chances when they're on offer.

There's been some discussion around Brisbane tanking to avoid playing Melbourne. Had Brisbane won last week's game, they would have played Melbourne regardless, so it's a non-story.

 

[Big Pete]

Brisbane Broncos 26 (Kotoni Staggs, Reece Walsh, Jordan Riki, Selwyn Cobbo tries; Adam Reynolds 5/5 goals) def. Melbourne Storm 0

The Brisbane Broncos have qualified for the Prelim Final after ending their 14-year hoodoo against the Melbourne Storm at Suncorp Stadium.

From the opening set, the Broncos looked to rattle the Storm and it paid off as Melbourne made some uncharacteristic errors inside their own half. This allowed the Broncos to get their star centre Kotoni Staggs one-on-one with Young Tonumaipea and Staggs was able to cut Tonumaipea with a lovely step inside before powering over for the all important first try.

Brisbane dominated possession and field position but struggled to put the Storm away. Melbourne had their opportunities and it appeared they had scored when Xavier Coates crossed mid-way through the half. However skipper Adam Reynolds was able to stick in the tackle and force an error to let the Broncos off the hook.

It was his second big defensive play of the half, with his first coming off a fantastic goal-line drop-out that gave Brisbane the ball on the half-way line.

Brisbane settled for a penalty goal right on half-time to enter the break 8-0.

The atmosphere at Suncorp Stadium was so tense you could have cut it with a knife. This was made more apparant when Selwyn Cobbo made a couple of early mistakes. Brisbane were able to hang on and on the back of a couple of penalties were able to extend their lead.

Reece Walsh set Suncorp alight when he stepped through some staggered defence. Then moments later Eliesa Katoa was pinged for a controversial late hit on Reece Walsh. Brisbane capitilised again as Reece Walsh put Jordan Riki into space and the popular Kiwi was able to scrape the try line to give the Broncos a commanding lead.

Melbourne had their chances to get themselves back into the contest, but the Broncos defence held resolute and frustrated the Storm into error. It really was an uncharacteristic performance from the Storm and as the night wore on their luck kept going down hill. Xavier Coates went down with a minor ankle syndesmosis injury while the entire Rugby League community held it's breath when Ryan Papenhuyzen was stretchered from the field.

The initial prognosis was a compound fracture to the ankle but later reports confirmed it was a routine fracture. It was the only negative on what was a great night for the Broncos. Ever since 2004, Melbourne have made these clashes miserable for Broncos fans, so for 50,000+ to witness that on such a big occassion meant the world to a lot of fans.

It was largely considered a team performance but the fans in particular were high on Adam Reynolds, Patrick Carrigan & Payne Haas who all looked primed after spending some time on the sidelines.

The Broncos will go onto play the winner of the Warriors and Newcastle Knights. Two in-form teams with two of the best attacking players spear-heading their charge. Either game should make for a fantastic grand final qualifier.