Round 16 vs. North Queensland Cowboys Discussion

[Big Pete]

North Queensland Cowboys vs. Brisbane Broncos
Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Saturday 2 July 2022
Kick Off: 5:30pm

1. Scott Drinkwater 2. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow 3. Valentine Holmes 4. Peta Hiku 5. Murray Taulagi 6. Tom Dearden 7. Chad Townsend 8. Jordan McLean 9. Reece Robson 10. Coen Hess 11. Tom Gilbert 12. Jeremiah Nanai 13. Jason Taumalolo

Interchange: 14. Jake Granville 15. Luciano Leilua 16. Jamayne Taunoa-Brown 17. Griffin Neame

Reserves: 18. Ben Condon 19. Brendan Elliot 20. Kane Bradley 21. Iosefo Baleiwairiki 22. Kyle Feldt

1. Te Maire Martin 2. Corey Oates 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Brenko Lee 5. Selwyn Cobbo 6. Ezra Mam 7. Adam Reynolds 8. Corey Jensen 9. Billy Walters 10. Payne Haas 11. Kurt Capewell 12. Jordan Riki 13. Patrick Carrigan

Interchange: 14. Jake Turpin 15. Kobe Hetherington 16. Thomas Flegler 17. Keenan Palasia

Reserves: 18. Jordan Pereira 19. TC Robati 20. Tyson Gamble 21. Delouise Hoeter 22. Rhys Kennedy​

 

[Big Pete]

Another tough game for the Brisbane Broncos.

They go in as $2.60 outsiders against a form Cowboys team that currently sits at 11-4. While the Broncos have come a long way since the Cowboys 38-12 ambush at Suncorp recent set-backs has tempered expectations going into the game.

For the Broncos it'll be interesting to see how they respond after their loss to Melbourne. They were riding a high and picked up a couple of wins, namely against the Titans and Raiders, where it appeared they won on self-belief more than dominant football.

They put in a good showing to lead Melbourne 16-6, but ultimately they fell into a hole and conceded 26 points to let that slip.

The return of Reynolds should help but I can see a lot of attention being on Selwyn Cobbo. He's had a whirlwind season but his past couple of performances have been poor and he's cost his team at pivotal moments. He's a young player and these things happen the important part is how they respond so Selwyn will need to be on his game.

The other player to look out for is Corey Oates. Oates was unlucky to miss out on Origin selection and after Taulagi's poor performance for the Maroons, he has an opportunity to play himself into contention. He was just about the Broncos best against Melbourne so with the heat on, it'll be interesting to see how he responds.

 

[Showtime]

Riki and Capewell would have to be the least effective 2nd row pairing in the competition.

 

[Big Pete]

North Queensland Cowboys 40 def. Brisbane Broncos 26 (Oates 2, Walters, Cobbo tries; Reynolds 5/5 goals)

9-6

I thought the scoreline did a good job of reflecting the contest. The Cowboys a cut above, but Brisbane made a contest of it despite their issues. In general play the Cowboys simply ran and tackled harder but on the goal line the Broncos were very resilient in that first half.

The Cowboys really troubled the Broncos with their kicking game earning repeat set after repeat set. However the Broncos did well to come up with important tackles at key intervals to deny the Cowboys. Martin, Mam and Reynolds all came up with great efforts to deny the Cowboys and at 10-8 Cowboys the Broncos had plenty to be upbeat about. Especially since they blew a golden opportunity just on half-time when Cobbo was able to claim a Cowboys kick and tear through the ongoing chase. Unfortunately Mam had a rush of blood, kicked ahead on tackle two when Hiku had it well scouted.

However the Broncos couldn't go with the Cowboys during the opening exchanges of the second half. Billy Walters and Keenan Palasia gave away a costly late tackle set penalty and the Cowboys exposed the Broncos through the middle. This appeared to have rattled the Broncos because Riki threw a pressure flick pass to Staggs when he was well and truly covered. This gave the Cowboys another opportunity and they worked an easy second man phase play to put Feldt over in the corner.

The score was threatening to blow out on a few occassions, but when the Broncos did receive opportunities they did look effective with the ball. They worked a nice block play down the left corner to put Oates away. Then off a scrum play Reynolds timed it to perfection to put Oates through off a nice second-rowers type line. Then at the death Cobbo ran a Trbojevic like play off of Carrigan which resulted in a huge break. Cobbo then finished off his hard work with a strong barge over from dummy half.

For a moment it appeared the game could be heading for a huge boil over but two very innocuous errors from Carrigan and Palasia ruined their momentum. Off the scrum, Drinkwater got past Reynolds to help send Taulagi over in the corner.

It was a frustrating game for the Broncos because there were some positive aspects but too many errors at crucial times meant they were always on the back foot. Reynolds had a poor game coming back from injury and Te Maire Martin went down in the first half after a try saver on Feldt. The Broncos really missed his organisation at the back and it undoubtedly made the Cowboys life easier attacking the Broncos goal line.

I'd say the positive was Mam's defence who was targeted through out the night but he came up with some big hits and once again didn't appear out of place on that left edge. Cobbo also bounced back well after a forgettable Origin making two big breaks and going close to scoring another try only for it to be called back for a double knock on (the put-down did appear to be dubious).

Two losses in a row now for the Broncos. I was doing a ladder predictor and even if the Broncos beat the Titans, Knights and Tigers (no guarantee) they could still miss the 8. The game next week is shaping up as a pivotal contest in the season. With Haas, Carrigan, Capewell and Cobbo all but assured a place in Origin and the Broncos poor recent record against the Dragons (haven't beaten them since 2017) it could easily be 3 losses on the trot.