Round 11 vs. Melbourne Storm

[Big Pete]

Brisbane Broncos vs. Melbourne Storm
Suncorp Stadium, Friday 24 July 2020
Kick Off 7:55pm
​

1. Anthony Milford 2. Herbie Farnworth 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Darius Boyd 5. Xavier Coates 6. Brodie Croft 7. Tom Dearden 8. Thomas Flegler 9. Cory Paix 10. Payne Haas 11. Joe Ofahengaue 12. Tevita Pangai Junior 13. Patrick Carrigan

Interchange: 14. Tyson Gamble 15. Rhys Kennedy 16. Jamil Hopoate 17. Ben Te'o

Reserves: 18. Richard Kennar 19. Ethan Bullemor 20. Pride Petterson-Robati 21. Kobe Hetherington

1. Ryan Papenhuyzen 2. Paul Momirovski 3. Brenko Lee 4. Justin Olam 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Cameron Munster 7. Jahrome Hughes 8. Brandon Smith 9. Cameron Smith 10. Christian Welch 11. Felise Kaufusi 12. Kenneath Bromwich 13. Dale Finucane

Interchange: 14. Marion Seve 15. Tino Fa'asuamaleaui 16. Albert Vete 17. Nelson Asofa-Solomona

Reserves: 18. Chris Lewis 19. Suliasi Vunivalu 20. Ryley Jacks 21. Darryn Schonig

 

[Big Pete]

I don't think I've ever seen the Broncos start at $9 before. It really goes to show how bad they've been this season. Not only is this uncharted territory for the Broncos, but very few clubs have been as poor as the Broncos have been of late.

It doesn't seem like they can cop a trick either. Niu suffered a wrist injury and is set to miss the rest of the season and Corey Oates is set to miss 4-6 weeks with his laceration. Strangely enough, it was actually good news for Oates as it appeared his injury could have been career ending. Issac Luke was also suspended for a week after his dangerous tackle on Chris Lawrence.

Jamayne Isaako will also miss the game after the passing of his father Taai Isaako. I'm sure I speak on behalf of every member of the LeagueUnlimited community when I offer Jamayne and his family our condolences and they're in our thoughts during these troubling times.

In some good news, Kotoni Staggs makes his return from his hamstring tear and will line up for the first time since the Round 5 clash against Manly. Kotoni has been sorely missed and should provide the Broncos with some much needed spark on their right edge.

Promising youngster Tom Dearden will also play his first game in the run on side which is a move Brisbane fans have been anticipating for months now. The classy 19 year old hasn't quite made his mark on the competition just yet but in his four first grade appearances showed enough to give Broncos a glimmer of hope moving forward.

He'll be joined by his Queensland Cup affiliate dummy half Cory Paix who makes his return to the run-on side in six weeks. Paix is considered the long-term #9 at the club and after a baptism of fire appears to be coming out the other side much more battle hardened. He'll be up against it facing Cameron Smith, the greatest #9 in the history of the sport but I'm sure it's a moment he won't forget. Smith is 17 years his senior and I doubt Paix would have ever thought this moment would come.

There's next to no confidence heading into this game for the Broncos which in a way can be freeing. If they can go out there and assert themselves physically it could be just the foundation they need moving forward into 2021.

Of course on the opposite coin, there are some fans out there who believe they're in for a record loss and the Bulldogs 1935 85 point loss could be in jeopardy. It would be a remarkable turn of events, surely they can't happen in the professional era?

 

[Nerd]

Moving Milford back to fullback where i think he belongs wont hurt. I can't see Dearden doing too much with the way our forward pack is playing at the moment and I'm hoping he can make it through the game uninjured and without any major errors. Hopefully we can get on the scoreboard and keep the Storm under 50.

 

[Nerd]

Well got the above pretty well arse about. Milford had a shocker and needs to be dropped. Dearden was excellent in the first half. But we did get on the scoreboard and did keep them under 50 which for the way we have been playing is sadly an improvement. I was big supporter of buying Croft at the start of the year and maybe he needs more time but everything he did tonight besides the hit on Papenhuzen was just wrong. When he should have passed he ran it, when he should have ran it he passed and this kicking a bomb and hoping at the end of every set is just a terrible option. Use Cameron Smith as an example most of his last tackle kicks were flat and found the ground and only a few were bombs.

Don't know what they did to Flegler before the game but whatever it was they need to keep doing it. Hopoate tries hard but just isn't big enough or up to NRL standard and when we get some of the injured players back should be one of the first dropped after Milford. Pangai getting 10 minutes at the end of the game was just bone headed stupid. I'd have him doing laps all week if I was the coach.

 

[DeeJ]

If there's any consolation, that game was more like the Broncos of old vs the Storm, rather than the 2020 Broncos. That is, we match them for a quarter of the game then the dam breaks and they put on a score.

 

[Bronco18]

Pangai getting 10 minutes at the end of the game was just bone headed stupid. I'd have him doing laps all week if I was the coach.

It was a stupid move for sure, it did rub me raw at the time though that he gets sin binned for it straight after the Storm gave away three penalties away on their line.

THAT is clearly why we lost.... ahem.

I’m all seriousness, why did they stop playing football in the second half? They had a red hot crack in the first half and were willing to spread the ball, even in our own 50. Then when Storm
got back on the front foot, we went back to the same zombie football we’ve been playing since Covid....

 

[99isthebest]

Imagine keeping Pangai Jr and not being able to resign Fafita

 

[Bronco18]

Imagine keeping Pangai Jr and not being able to resign Fafita

:’(

 

[Nerd]

Imagine keeping Pangai Jr and not being able to resign Fafita

The Broncos management did the right thing. Paying overs for players is what got the club into the trouble it finds itself in at the moment and won't be over till Boyd, Milford and Bird are gone.