Trial #1 vs. Wynnum Manly Seagulls

[Big Pete]

Wynnum Manly Seagulls vs. Brisbane Broncos
BMD Kougari Oval, Saturday 12 February 2022
Kick Off: 4:00pm

1st Half
1. Ben Farr 2. Sione Hopoate 3. Dredin Sorensen 4. Mathew Lyons 5. Ryan O'Keefe 6. Max Plath 7. Sam Scarlett 8. Max Elliott 9. Tristan Hope 10. Luke Bateman 11. Bailey Hartwig 12. Matiu Love-Henry 13. Kalolo Saitaua

Interchange: 14. Jacob Sturt 15. Lachlan Lee 16. Caleb Daunt 17. Aaron Rockley 18. Tom Farr 19. Harrison Graham

2nd Half
1. Daine Spencer 2. Josh Bowyer 3. Tom Farr 4. Sebastian Winters-Chang 5. Brandon Jackonia 6. Kyle Coghill 7. Caleb Daunt 8. Nofoasa Malutoa 9. Jayden Connors 10. Max Elliott 11. Kelepi Faukafa 12. Ethan Malt 13. James Robinson

Interchange: Felix Faatilli, Brandon Whittaker, Clayton Mack, EJ Lui

1. Jamayne Isaako 2. Kiko Manu 3. Brenko Lee 4. Deine Mariner 5. Jordan Pereira 6. Ezra Mam 7. Te Maire Martin 8. Thomas Flegler 9. Cory Paix 10. Keenan Palasia 11. Brendan Piakura 12. Zac Hosking 13. Kobe Hetherington

Interchange: 14. Tyson Gamble 15. Billy Walters 16. Corey Oates 17. Corey Jensen 18. Ben Nakubuwai 19. Tyrone Amey 20. Ben Te Kura​

 

[Big Pete]

We're back for 2022.

The first trial is upon us and once again the Broncos find themselves at Kougari Oval for their traditional trial game against Wynnum. I believe this has become an annual fixture since 2015 and it's usually a good afternoon of suburban football.

The Broncos will be looking to win their first game there since 2019, after losing in 2020 and giving up a late try to secure a try last season. There's 14 players playing their first game for the Broncos including exciting junior Ezra Mam.

Ezra was a stand-out for Souths Logan last year scoring 13 tries from 11 appearances and he just has a knack of creating things around him. He's still very raw, but the Broncos expect big things out of him and have signed him to a 3-year deal. He'll be joined by Schoolboys sensation Deine Mariner and a young prop forward by the name of Benjamin Te Kura who is expected to have a huge future in the game.

Wynnum will announce their team tomorrow and fans can watch a stream of the game via SeagullsTV which should be available through their social media.

It'll be interesting to see who turns heads in this game. Of course last year it actually backfired on the Broncos with Reece Walsh impressing so much the Warriors offered him an NRL deal before he'd actually played a proper game against men. It was also the game where Selwyn Cobbo, TC Robati, Kobe Hetherington and Xavier Willison had some impressive plays and they've all got NRL experience now.

In other news, there was a write-up on Zac Hosking in the Courier Mail. Hosking was a Knights junior who came through their junior grades and while he's been something of a late bloomer he was awarded the NSW Cup Player of the Year. He's more of a lock forward style of player but as he's shown here he has enough versatility to play on an edge. Brenko Lee compared him to Dallas Johnson which isn't too far off the mark. Hopefully he impresses and can take his footy to another level at Brisbane.

 

[ALX25]

No room for Mozer yet?

 

[Big Pete]

No room for Mozer yet?

I wouldn't be shocked to see him on an extended bench.

Some pre-season reports suggest that he's struggling with the physicality in the middle so I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't turn heads right away.

 

[cumbrian Mackem]

We're back for 2022.

The first trial is upon us and once again the Broncos find themselves at Kougari Oval for their traditional trial game against Wynnum. I believe this has become an annual fixture since 2015 and it's usually a good afternoon of suburban football.

The Broncos will be looking to win their first game there since 2019, after losing in 2020 and giving up a late try to secure a try last season. There's 14 players playing their first game for the Broncos including exciting junior Ezra Mam.

Ezra was a stand-out for Souths Logan last year scoring 13 tries from 11 appearances and he just has a knack of creating things around him. He's still very raw, but the Broncos expect big things out of him and have signed him to a 3-year deal. He'll be joined by Schoolboys sensation Deine Mariner and a young prop forward by the name of Benjamin Te Kura who is expected to have a huge future in the game.

Wynnum will announce their team tomorrow and fans can watch a stream of the game via SeagullsTV which should be available through their social media.

It'll be interesting to see who turns heads in this game. Of course last year it actually backfired on the Broncos with Reece Walsh impressing so much the Warriors offered him an NRL deal before he'd actually played a proper game against men. It was also the game where Selwyn Cobbo, TC Robati, Kobe Hetherington and Xavier Willison had some impressive plays and they've all got NRL experience now.

In other news, there was a write-up on Zac Hosking in the Courier Mail. Hosking was a Knights junior who came through their junior grades and while he's been something of a late bloomer he was awarded the NSW Cup Player of the Year. He's more of a lock forward style of player but as he's shown here he has enough versatility to play on an edge. Brenko Lee compared him to Dallas Johnson which isn't too far off the mark. Hopefully he impresses and can take his footy to another level at Brisbane.

Mariner is a kiwi . Right?

what’s the status of players like Ben nakubuwai and Te maire Martin mate? Are they part of the broncos 30 man nrl squad or are they on developmental contracts?

 

[ALX25]

Mariner is a Kiwi but the Aus Schoolboy selectors thought otherwise.

 

[cumbrian Mackem]

Mariner is a Kiwi but the Aus Schoolboy selectors thought otherwise.

Hopefully whenever the kiwis play Australia at u20 level again mariner will play for the country of his birth.

 

[Big Pete]

Mariner is a kiwi . Right?

what’s the status of players like Ben nakubuwai and Te maire Martin mate? Are they part of the broncos 30 man nrl squad or are they on developmental contracts?

I'd have to go back and check but I believe Deine was signed out of New Zealand and went to PBC at 16 making him a Kiwi. He was signed around the same time as Xavier Willison.

Te Maire Martin signed a development deal as soon as he was cleared by doctors. Ben Nakubuwai is on a train and trial through the Broncos affiliation with the Norths Devils. It's his second pre-season with the club.

 

[cumbrian Mackem]

I'd have to go back and check but I believe Deine was signed out of New Zealand and went to PBC at 16 making him a Kiwi. He was signed around the same time as Xavier Willison.

Te Maire Martin signed a development deal as soon as he was cleared by doctors. Ben Nakubuwai is on a train and trial through the Broncos affiliation with the Norths Devils. It's his second pre-season with the club.

cool, thanks mate.

Whats the backstory with Ben te Kura. Is he a kiwi too?

 

[Big Pete]

cool, thanks mate.

Whats the backstory with Ben te Kura. Is he a kiwi too?

I haven't heard of any New Zealand affiliation with Ben.

The Broncos have another promising backrower coming through in Nathaniel Tangimataiti who came over from New Zealand. He was a real stand-out for Marsden and should be one of the players to watch out for in MM Cup.

 

[cumbrian Mackem]

I haven't heard of any New Zealand affiliation with Ben.

The Broncos have another promising backrower coming through in Nathaniel Tangimataiti who came over from New Zealand. He was a real stand-out for Marsden and should be one of the players to watch out for in MM Cup.

Good stuff.

The broncos seem to be building a strong kiwi connection in all grades which is good to see as it helps boost RL in New Zealand in the long-term.

 

[Big Pete]

Brisbane won 52-4.

Tyrone Roberts and Ethan Quai-Ward were late scratchings.

I've tried to name the Seagulls side the best I can from the team lists provided before each half. I'll get around to watching the replay in just awhile. Apparently they had streaming issues, so I wonder if they'll re-upload it later on.

 

[XXXX Cap]

If Wynnum used 34+ players for the match, it's no wonder it was such a blow out. Half of those will end up playing below Queensland Cup level (in the BRL comp) so that's a huge gap from the full time professional players of the Broncos.

 

[Big Pete]

I thought it was a solid display from the Broncos and better than their effort last year. They didn't over-play their hand and I thought the backs did a better job of converting their opportunities.

It was difficult to take too much away from the opening quater because the footage was incredibly laggy. As far as I could tell, the forwards laid a good platform and I thought Paix came up with some big plays. First the grubber to get the repeat set and then the try from the dummy half sneak really got Brisbane on the front foot.

He's starting to put the pieces together Paix but he's got to continue to work on his play around the ruck. He appears to be in two minds and out of sync with his team mates. I think he needs to keep getting those reps in, work on his communication with the forwards and helping them get those quick play the balls so he can get nice clean service to his halves.

The halves were pretty raw, but they also had some nice moments with Ezra in particular really shining in those broken play eyes up moments. If he can develop his passing and kicking game, he could be anything, but right now he's just one of those players where the ball just seems to land right for him and he isn't afraid to chance his arm.

I thought the bench really kept the momentum going with Amey and Nakubuwai really doing a good job of maintaining that go forward which must be pleasing for Magpies and Devils fans. Walters was given a lot of space around the ruck and he did a really good job of capitilising on that, especially in the lead up to the Gamble try.

The only negative I have was that the Broncos didn't score a try from a set-play in that first half. It went dummy-half sneak, Ezra swooping on a ball, evading the defence to put Mariner away, Isaako tapping it forward (I don't think that would have been given with the bunker) and then a grubber behind the line for Pereira who streaked away. It wasn't until the second half where the Broncos were able to put it through the hands to score and by that point they were facing BRL and Colts players with all the pressure off.

I'm curious to see how long it will take Rohan Smith to give Te Kura an opportunity in QCup. The guy looks like a hell of a prospect, played down both edges and while raw just has that freakish size about him. Deine Mariner with his hat-trick was for mine the stand-out and I would be shocked if he didn't play NRL at some point this season. Just the way he moves and some of the plays he made in defence impressed me, I think he'll be right in the mix.

Otherwise, the middles certainly put their hand up, Hetherington has to be in the 17 somewhere. Piakura didn't have the biggest game, but was a handful with the footy going close on a few occasions and coming up with some big tackles I'll be interested to watch his development. Pereira, Walters, Mam and Paix also put in some strong moments.

As an aside, I doubt Wynnum will be as understrength as this game. They definitely missed having Berrell, Campagnolo and Taia but they should gain a host of Broncos players and they've got some exciting prospects who should get better with time. The inclusion of Martin, Hoeter and Hosking in particular will add a lot.