Round 11 vs. Manly Sea Eagles Discussion

[Big Pete]

Manly Sea Eagles vs. Brisbane Broncos
Suncorp Stadium, Friday 17 May 2024
Kick Off: 8:00pm

1. Tolutau Koula 2. Raymond Tuiamalo Vaega 3. Tommy Talau 4. Reuben Garrick 5. Jaxson Paulo 6. Luke Brooks 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Taniela Paseka 9. Karl Lawton 10. Josh Aloiai 11. Haumole Olakau'atu 12. Ben Trbojevic 13. Jake Trbojevic

14. Gordon Chan Kum Tong 15. Corey Waddell 16. Ethan Bullemor 17. Matthew Lodge

18. Aaron Woods 19. Jakob Arthur 20. Dean Matterson 21. Brandon Wakeham 22. Toafofoa Sipley

4. Selwyn Cobbo 2. Corey Oates 3. Kotoni Staggs 21. Josiah Karapani 5. Deine Mariner 6. Ezra Mam 7. Jock Madden 8. Corey Jensen 9. Tyson Smoothy 10. Payne Haas 11. Brendan Piakura 12. Jordan Riki 13. Patrick Carrigan

14. Blake Mozer 15. Xavier Willison 16. Kobe Hetherington 17. Jack Gosiewski

1. Reece Walsh 18. Joshua Rogers 19. Martin Taupau 20. Jaiyden Hunt 22. Cory Paix​

 

[Big Pete]

The Broncos have been dealt a blow ahead of Friday's Magic Round clash against the Manly Sea Eagles after Reece Walsh suffered a knee injury. The injury is only expected to keep him out for a week, but it will even the playing field after Tom Trbojevic suffered a hamstring injury that's set to keep him out for six weeks.

The Broncos will welcome new recruit Josiah Karapani. Karapani was signed from South Sydney at the end of last year and is known for his tough carries. Karapani will have his work cut out for him with Olakauatu returning and I expect Manly to run plenty of traffic down his side, he will need to be ready to handle the defensive responsibility.

Otherwise, Jock Madden has recovered from his pec injury and has an opportunity to make a case for himself as a long term halfback option. He'll be joined by Blake Mozer who comes in for the injured Walters. There's plenty of expectations on Mozer and this shapes as his first real test after last year's glorified reserves game against the Storm.

 

[Showtime]

Pete, how has Mozer looked so far this year? First grade standard?

 

[Big Pete]

Pete, how has Mozer looked so far this year? First grade standard?

On his day absolutely and as long as he can remain patient and stick to providing quality service I could see him being a real asset to the rotation.

The Magpies made a slow start to 2024 and you can see the impact that's had on Mozer's football. He's beginning to step up and deliver the type of head-turning performances you'd expect given his relative hype in the media, so now is as good a time as any to give him a taste and help his development.

 

[MRN]

No real comments just yet. Just relief. Need to process.

 

[Big Pete]

Brisbane Broncos 13 (Brendan Piakura, Deine Mariner tries; Kotoni Staggs 2/2 goals, Jock Madden field goal) def. Manly Sea Eagles 12

7-4

After a hot start, it appeared the Broncos were going to make short work of the Sea Eagles before possession swung and the Broncos found themselves on the back foot. In the end they were able to graft out a win with Madden stepping up to slot over the field goal.

I thought the cover defence was strong for the Broncos. There were plenty of times where the Sea Eagles were able to establish a roll-on, only for a Carrigan or a Mariner to step up and make a big hit. My big concern defensively for the Broncos was the left edge but they showed plenty of intent and if they weren't able to make the tackle, they did enough to affect the run.

Even though that edge did eventually concede both tries, the first was unlucky since the pass from Olokau'atu appeared forward to Garrick. While the other was just a misread from Karaipani who showed his hand and Manly took advantage.

While the Broncos certainly felt the absence of Reece Walsh, Selwyn Cobbo filled in admirably at the back, defusing a barrage of kicks and giving the Manly defence plenty of headaches. Unfortunately Cobbo couldn't quite string everything together and he made a couple of mistakes that prevented the Broncos from kicking on, but you have to take the good with the bad.

Carrigan was back to his best and was strong on both sides of the ball. There were a couple of occassions where he tucked the ball in when the pass may have been on, but I thought he was playing to the conditions and if Mam or Madden wanted to step in, they should have been more assertive. The few times Carrigan had a breather, it seemed like Mozer didn't know who to give the ball to and the recipients weren't expecting it, so I can understand his desire to keep it simple.

The South Sydney recruit Josiah Karaipani made a strong debut. 170m+ is nothing to scoff at and he was able to find his front on multiple occasions, he could prove to be a real find coming into the Origin period. He was joined alongside the highly rated Mozer who had a mixed game. I think you can see the class and potential but he's still getting used to the rigours of playing against men and it affected his service as the game wore on.

Like Smoothy, I'd expect his game to improve with more reps he can play. There was a time where Smoothy was struggling and was a prime scapegoat amongst fans, I think he's since settled into a quiet achiever role and fans appreciate the composure he brings when he replaces Billy.

There was a scare around Payne Haas who had to be carried off the field. However it turned out to be a pinched nerve and Haas was able to bounce back and make a big impact later in the contest.

It's not the type of win the Broncos can brag about, but in terms of patience and maturity to out-point a Manly side with Cherry-Evans in the team is a good feather in the cap moving forward.