Round 27 vs. Melbourne Storm Discussion

[Big Pete]

Brisbane Broncos vs. Melbourne Storm
Suncorp Stadium, Thursday 5 September 2024
Kick Off: 7:50pm

1. Tristan Sailor 2. Corey Oates 3. Selwyn Cobbo 4. Deine Mariner 5. Jesse Arthars 6. Joshua Rogers 7. Adam Reynolds 8. Corey Jensen 9. Billy Walters 10. Fletcher Baker 11. Jaiyden Hunt 12. Jordan Riki 13. Patrick Carrigan

14. Blake Mozer 15. Kobe Hetherington 16. Benjamin Te Kura 17. Martin Taupau

18. Josiah Karapani 19. Cory Paix 20. Reece Walsh 21. Vaa Semu

1. Sualauvi Faalogo 2. William Warbrick 3. Jack Howarth 4. Nick Meaney 5. Grant Anderson 6. Cameron Munster 7. Jahrome Hughes 8. Nelson Asofa-Solomona 9. Harry Grant 10. Josh King 11. Shawn Blore 12. Eliesa Katoa 13. Trent Loiero

14. Tyran Wishart 15. Christian Welch 16. Tui Kamikamica 17. Alec MacDonald

18. Kane Bradley 19. Joe Chan 20. Lazarus Vaalepu 21. Ativalu Lisati 22. Xavier Coates​

 

[Big Pete]

Staggs (quad), Piakura (ankle), Haas (foot), Willison (suspension) will all miss the game. Walsh (hand) was named earlier in the week but was ruled out 24 hours before the game with Karapani and Paix the two remaining reserves.

It's just a matter of survival tonight. The Broncos have had 30+ put on them eight times this year, with half those being 40+. They have to show some signs of life and if they go into this like they did in 2022 and 2019 it could bring things to a head for Kevie Walters and may see the end of an era.

 

[renouf]

Should be able to compete in a game without losing by 50 or 40.

 

[Big Pete]

Melbourne Storm 50 def. Brisbane Broncos 12 (Josh Rogers, Jesse Arthars tries; Adam Reynolds 2/2 goals)

10-14

Thank god that's over.

The Broncos have had worse seasons, but this has been by far the most disappointing. After falling agonisingly short in the Grand Final, there was still some flicker of hope that the Broncos could go one better. However they just never found any rhythm and the longer the season went, the further their standards slipped to the point where they were getting towelled up by other struggling teams.

They just hit a ceiling in 2023, it wasn't good enough to win the premiership and since they couldn't break it they've dropped off.

Yes there was excuses, but every club had issues to deal with and not all of them performed as poorly as the Broncos. This is a systemic failure and comes down to mismanagement and poor contingency planning.

As far as the game itself, Melbourne controlled the game from the opening whistle and won the physical contest easily. They found far too much space everytime they challenged Corey Oates' wing and it got so bad that half-way through the opening half, Kevie had to move Oates to the other side of the field to hide him. It was a terrible way for a great of the club to go out - he just looked well off the pace.

I thought Mozer had some nice touches and gave Kevie something to think about over the pre-season. If Mozer can have a strong pre-season, it should be time to bite the bullet and give him that starting 9 spot.

On the other hand, Te Kura still looked very green and did little to impress. The Broncos have been very high on him and while he was on a hiding to nothing I've yet to see him justify the bluster.

 

[Showtime]

Melbourne Storm 50 def. Brisbane Broncos 12 (Josh Rogers, Jesse Arthars tries; Adam Reynolds 2/2 goals)

10-14

Thank god that's over.

The Broncos have had worse seasons, but this has been by far the most disappointing. After falling agonisingly short in the Grand Final, there was still some flicker of hope that the Broncos could go one better. However they just never found any rhythm and the longer the season went, the further their standards slipped to the point where they were getting towelled up by other struggling teams.

They just hit a ceiling in 2023, it wasn't good enough to win the premiership and since they couldn't break it they've dropped off.

Yes there was excuses, but every club had issues to deal with and not all of them performed as poorly as the Broncos. This is a systemic failure and comes down to mismanagement and poor contingency planning.

As far as the game itself, Melbourne controlled the game from the opening whistle and won the physical contest easily. They found far too much space everytime they challenged Corey Oates' wing and it got so bad that half-way through the opening half, Kevie had to move Oates to the other side of the field to hide him. It was a terrible way for a great of the club to go out - he just looked well off the pace.

I thought Mozer had some nice touches and gave Kevie something to think about over the pre-season. If Mozer can have a strong pre-season, it should be time to bite the bullet and give him that starting 9 spot.

On the other hand, Te Kura still looked very green and did little to impress. The Broncos have been very high on him and while he was on a hiding to nothing I've yet to see him justify the bluster.

My concern is the drop we have when we have players out, we are literally a bottom 4 side without Reynolds. Teams like the storm and panthers just carry on even though Munster and Cleary have missed long periods. I suspect it’s a coaching / system thing guys like Gould speak about.