Trial #3 vs. North Queensland Cowboys

[Big Pete]

Brisbane Broncos vs. North Queensland Cowboys
Sunshine Coast Stadium, Saturday 18th of February 2023
Kick Off: 7:55pm

1. Selwyn Cobbo 2. Corey Oates 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Herbie Farnworth 5. Jesse Arthars 6. Ezra Mam 19. Jock Madden 8. Corey Jensen 9. Billy Walters 10. Payne Haas 11. Kurt Capewell 12. Jordan Riki 13. Patrick Carrigan

14. Cory Paix 15. Keenan Palasia 16. Brendan Piakura 17. Martin Taupau 18. Deine Mariner 20. Delouise Hoeter 21. Blake Mozer 22. Xavier Willison 23. Josh Rogers

Omitted: 7. Adam Reynolds

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

14. Jake Granville 15. Griffin Neame 16. Jack Gosiewski 17. James Tamou 18. Ben Hampton 19. Riley Price 20. Brendan Elliot​

 

[Big Pete]

Adam Reynolds was ruled out after injurying his back at training. Reynolds should be right for Round 1 but that will see Jock Madden come into the starting side while Josh Rogers comes onto the bench.

Walsh will also miss the game after suffering a facial fracture against the Gold Coast. He's touch and go for the season opener but will likely line-up for Round 2.

Flegler is also missing after he suffered a concussion at training.

It's going to be a tough test for the Broncos. In the corrosponding game last year they were the better team for the opening 20 minutes before the Cowboys completely shut them out and won comfortably 26-6. They need to at least improve on this and make it a competitive game. A lot of attention will be on the spine and how they perform.

In particular the dummy halves for the Broncos will be looking to nail down a position. It appears at this stage Paix/Walters will share the duties but it remains to be seen whether that combination will last the season. Mozer has returned ahead of schedule and while I expect he'll only played limited minutes, there's going to be a lot of interest if he can make a difference around the ruck.

Also worth noting that Broncos fans are curious to see how Piakura performs. The Broncos had to fend off a serious bid from the Bulldogs to keep him and he's only played two NRL games since. He's struggled for consistent time on the field and when he has played there's been some serious question marks over his defence. Fans will be looking for marked improvement especially given the options and lack there of on the edge.