While it was a disappointing loss, I'm glad we actually got to see them play some footy. Things were so dire in Brisbane last year the few highlights they had typically came from heart-breaking losses (eg vs. Manly, vs. Cronulla, vs. St George Illawarra). Like you said Nerd, at least it wasn't like Round 3 last year where it was virtually a Parramatta Eels training session.
I liked the shapes Brisbane played with. I remember Kev had Milf play right side in the 2018 Origin decider so he obviously thinks he's more suited there. I can't say I blame him either, the kick and pass he put together for Coates was spot on and the type of plays we've wanted to see from Milf since the beginning. I liked that Kev had him playing more like a traditional 6 as well and popping up across the field. I hope as the season wears on, he can start running inside plays off of Asiata and really start taking teams on through the ruck.
The backs certainly looked more potent than I expected. I hope Mead actually builds on his performance from Round 1 instead of going back into his shell like he did in 2017 when he helped blitz the Roosters and played nowhere near that level again all season. Farnworth had his best game in the centres and linked well while Coates was getting far more opportunities than he was the year prior.
If the Broncos can continue to play positive expansive footy they can make up for a lot of their shortcomings. I just hope they get away from their obsession with the middle third. I thought Riki's game suffered somewhat in the second half because Milf kept having him come back on the inside. He should have been running straight through Moses, it's something I hope he works on.
To be fair, I thought this was an improvement over their trial performance even if the result ended up the same. Milford, Farnworth and Bullemor all brought something to the team and with Haas & Staggs to come in and room for two more signings they maybe able to get themselves out of the funk.
As it stands though, it's the 12th loss in a row.