Round 18 vs. Penrith Panthers Discussion

[Big Pete]

Brisbane Broncos vs. Penrith Panthers
Suncorp Stadium, Friday 5 July 2024
Kick Off: 8:00pm

1. Reece Walsh 2. Corey Oates 3. Deine Mariner 4. Selwyn Cobbo 5. Jesse Arthars 6. Ezra Mam 7. Jock Madden 8. Corey Jensen 9. Billy Walters 10. Payne Haas 11. Brendan Piakura 12. Kobe Hetherington 13. Patrick Carrigan

14. Tyson Smoothy 15. Xavier Willison 16. Josiah Karapani 17. Martin Taupau

18. Tristan Sailor 19. Joshua Rogers 20. Cory Paix 21. Blake Mozer 22. Kotoni Staggs

1. Dylan Edwards 2. Sunia Turuva 3. Izack Tago 4. Paul Alamoti 5. Brian To'o 6. Jack Cole 7. Jarome Luai 8. Moses Leota 9. Mitch Kenny 10. James Fisher-Harris 11. Scott Sorensen 12. Liam Martin 13. Isaah Yeo

14. Daine Laurie 15. Lindsay Smith 16. Liam Henry 17. Matt Eisenhuth

18. Brad Schneider 19. Luron Patea 20. Trent Toelau 21. Casey McLean 22. Luke Sommerton​

 

[Big Pete]

If the Broncos are ever going to turn their season around, this has to be the occassion. Home game against the team that beat them in the GF, Origin players back on deck after a week off and it's the perfect game to push your case for Origin.

Lose here and the Broncos go 7-9 with an Origin affected game coming up. It may prove to be a bridge too far at that point.

No Kotoni Staggs this week for the Broncos. Kotoni is attending a funeral for a close friend down in Dubbo so on behalf of the LU community I'd like to extend my condolences to his friends and family. There are bigger things in life than footy and it's important that players get the opportunity to grieve.

In his place Mariner will go to right centre and play his natural position. Mariner has struggled positionally on the wing, so it'll be interesting to see how he adjusts and whether he can handle the defensive responsibility. It should be an interesting battle against Alamoti and I'm sure the Broncos will try to target that edge.

 

[THE CHAMP]

We were simply outsmarted.
Our attack was shocking. We were obviously fired up and that showed early. Penrith adsorbed our defence early then returned fire at the start of the second half. This was timed perfectly.

Mamm, Marriner and Walsh really need a dry track. We have a great run into the finals so im certain we will be making the 8 but shit we need Reynolds bad.

In hindsight Hetherington should have started Willison on the bench. Losing the halfback didn't help either.

 

[renouf]

I'm not confident of making the 8, next week could easily be a loss, the following week could be missing players again after Origin.. seriously the season is f**ked. I'd question why they rested players against the Warriors which would have been a more winable game.

 

[Big Pete]

Penrith Panthers 14 def. Brisbane Broncos 6 (Reece Walsh try; Reece Walsh goal)

7-9

The Broncos played their best game in months but it wasn't good enough to top the defending premiers. The Broncos led 6-4 at half-time, but they failed to take advantage of early opportunities in the second half and when they allowed Penrith to score off an unopposed kick, they could never regain control of the contest.

Despite conceding the opening try, it was a much improved start from the Broncos. The inclusion of Willison in the starting side gave the Broncos a physical presence they've been lacking and they were able to impose themselves physically in defense.

Reece Walsh played one of his best games of the season and was the Broncos best on the night. The dynamic fullback rarely has any troubles splitting the defence, but he displayed a level of toughness that critics don't associate with his game, forcing turn-overs and taking tough carries. It was a good sign leading into the 2024 State of Origin decider.

Where it all went wrong for the Broncos was the attention to detail. They created opportunities but struggled to come up with the correct follow-up play and would let the Panthers off the hook with some sloppy efforts. The loss of Jock Madden early in the second half didn't help matters but it was evident well before then.

Their exit sets are always going to be an issue, but even their set-up plays lack the finer details, so if they're going to play to their strengths they need to understand what shapes and structures to run and at what time.

The game marked the fifth straight loss for the Broncos and with Walsh, Cobbo, Haas and Carrigan on Origin duty, it's difficult envisioning them getting one over the Dragons.