Round 3 vs. Penrith Panthers Discussion

[Big Pete]

Penrith Panthers vs. Brisbane Broncos
BlueBet Stadium, Thursday 21 March 2024
Kick Off: 7:00pm (AEST)

1. Dylan Edwards 2. Sunia Turuva 3. Izack Tago 4. Taylan May 5. Brian To'o 6. Jarome Luai 7. Nathan Cleary 8. Moses Leota 9. Mitch Kenny 10. Lindsay Smith 11. Scott Sorensen 12. Liam Martin 13. Isaah Yeo

14. Daine Laurie 15. Matt Eisenhuth 16. Liam Henry 17. Luke Garner

18. Soni Luke 19. Mavrik Geyer 20. Preston Riki 21. Paul Alamoti 22. Brad Schneider

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

14. Tyson Smoothy 15. Fletcher Baker 16. Kobe Hetherington 17. Martin Taupau

18. Xavier Willison 19. Tristan Sailor 20. Delouise Hoeter 21. Corey Oates 22. Jaiyden Hunt
​

 

[Big Pete]

The Broncos will be without skipper Adam Reynolds for the Grand Final rematch. Reynolds aggravated his knee injury and failed to complete the game against South Sydney. He will likely be replaced by Jock Madden.

It will be a big test for Madden, especially after he suffered a concussion two minutes into the Seagulls season opener against the PNG Hunters. This shapes as Madden's first game of the season.

There are also injury concerns for Payne Haas and Patrick Carrigan.

This is all shaping up as a loss for the Broncos. The best they can hope for is a similar performance to Round 12 2023 where they kept it to a respectable 4-15 loss despite Penrith having 58% possession and over 10 more minutes with the football.

Xavier Willison is expected to play his first game of the season for the Broncos. The club has big hopes for him and he's considered the most likely replacement for Flegler. It'll be a tough initiation but he'll be worth keeping an eye on.

 

[gUt]

 

[Big Pete]

Haas expected to miss the next 4-6 weeks after undergoing minor knee surgery.

A real shame to be without Reynolds and Haas for this one. It turns what would have been a blockbuster into a one-sided contest.

Still, there's plenty of room for improvement at the Broncos so without Reynolds and Haas, hopefully it forces other players to step up and make smarter decisions. Haas was controversially suspended after an altercation at a Sydney Leagues club between him and his team-mate Albert Kelly back in 2022. That night we saw Jensen and Palasia step up and Brisbane were actually on-top until Tesi Niu injured his hamstring right as he was chasing a would be try. We need to see a similar performance from the forwards tomorrow night.

Also a big test for Madden. If Jock is going to have a future, he needs to play like an NRL halfback and lead the team around. He can't just sit on his heels and only kick for corners and miss tackles.

 

[Big Pete]

Penrith Panthers 34 def. Brisbane Broncos 12 (Deine Mariner, Jesse Arthars tries; Kotoni Staggs 2/3 goals)

1-2

Could have been worse. No Reynolds and Haas and lost Walsh early after a 'poor' attempt at tackle from May. Walsh's injury proved to be a distraction and Penrith were at their ruthless best scoring the majority of their tries attacking second rowers who found themselves out of position.

Brisbane could have easily rolled over at 34-2 and wrote their season off, but they stepped it up and Penrith put the cue in the rack shortly after.

The spine was poor, the pack had a mixed bag and all in all the match failed to live up to the hype.

 

[SandwichArtist]

Can't imagine us ever getting the rub of the green like they did. Flashbacks to how it always played out when the Storm were in their dominant era. Some incredible work from Sutton TBH. I don't believe we were as bad as the score line suggests.

 

[gUt]

Rarely felt as angry about a game of footy than last night

 

[Frank_Grimes]

So judging by history (Oates last year) the facial fracture for Walsh will see him out for up to 8 weeks. What's the play? Sailor to fullback? I reckon Cobbo belongs in the centres now.

 

[gUt]