PRE-GAME Round 17 - Broncos vs Storm

[Foordy]

Yeah nah Macca won't change a thing :rolleyes:

hey @Huge is right ... we didn't lose a thing with Waddell filling in at hooker :takdir:

I take back everything negative i ever said about Macca ... he is a very important part of our team ... and we desperately miss him when he is injured. if we are going to be a chance this year we need to keep him on the field

 

[Super Freak]

Kahu not training this morning.

9.31am: Broncos are set to make late changes for tomorrow's game with the Storm. Travis Waddell appears to be left out with Joe Ofahengaue coming on to the bench. Alex Glenn will move to left centre with Kodi Nikorima to the bench.

 

[lionred]

UB was right. Glad Joffa is back. Hope he goes well

 

[ivanhungryjak]

Those Macca stats are a bit misleading though. You could probably put in any of the Origin players in there and come up with much the same thing. I do agree we missed him though.

 

[Super Freak]

9.57am: This training session is one of the year's most intense. The players are ripping into each other with heavy tackles. Clearly they are frustrated about last week's performance.

 

[broncos4life]

9.57am: This training session is one of the year's most intense. The players are ripping into each other with heavy tackles. Clearly they are frustrated about last week's performance.

Good. So they fucking should be.

 

[mitch222]

love a good hard training the day before a game
it signals intent that they are determined to stop the rot

 

[Super Freak]

THE NRMA Insurance Broncos have received a boost for tomorrow night’s blockbuster against Melbourne.

Alex Glenn has made it through training this morning and will come into the side at the unusual position of centre against the Storm.

He missed last week’s game with an AC joint injury.

It is a huge in for the Broncos, who are struggling with outside backs Jordan Kahu, Jack Reed, Greg Eden and Tom Opacic all out injured.

Kahu was close to a return from a pectoral problem, but the risk of re-injuring the muscle tomorrow night was deemed too great.

With the Broncos on the bye next week, he will get another two weeks to recover.

Andrew McCullough also proved his fitness this morning after having a pin taken out of his previously-fractured thumb on Monday.

The hooker has been missing for over a month and will be a huge injection for the Broncos as they look to improve their defence.

With Glenn moving to centre, Jaydn Su’A coulkd again be in the team, and Joe Ofahengaue could return to the NRL after a stint in the Intrust Super Cup.

BRONCOS NRL TEAM

1. Darius Boyd
2. Corey Oates
11. Alex Glenn
4. James Roberts
5. Lachlan Maranta
6. Anthony Milford
7. Ben Hunt
8. Josh McGuire
9. Andrew McCullough
10. Adam Blair
16. Jaydn Su'A
12. Matt Gillett
13. Corey Parker ©

Interchange:

3. Kodi Nikorima
14. Jarrod Wallace
15. Tevita Pangai Jnr
17. Travis Waddell
18. Joe Ofahengaue

Coach: Wayne Bennett

http://www.broncos.com.au/news/2016/06/30/team_update_glenn_to.af_news.html

 

[Morkel]

Much more confident with Glenn defending there.

 

[Super Freak]

IT is the Broncos’ most important game so far this season and Wayne Bennett says 18-year-old prodigy Jaydn Su’A is ready for the big time.

Su’A earns his third start for Brisbane in tomorrow night’s blockbuster with the Storm, with Bennett making several changes to the team he named on Tuesday.

With Su’A starting at left backrow, Alex Glenn moves to left centre and Kodi Nikorima reverts to the bench.

Travis Waddell has been omitted from the side and Joe Ofahengaue comes on to the bench.

Su’A, who doesn’t turn 19 until October, was among Brisbane’s best in their loss to the Bulldogs last week.

In his two NRL games he has played 160 minutes, an exceptional feat for a teenage backrower.

He made 45 tackles in his debut against the Tigers and has only made one error in his two games.

“In a perfect world we wouldn’t be playing him now,” Bennett said of Su’A.

“He is not out of place. If he was out of place we wouldn’t put him there.”

Hooker Andrew McCullough trained strongly and returns after fracturing his hand.

“I am pleased he is back,” Bennett said.

“He is an unsung hero of this team. You don’t realise until he is not playing.

“His defence around the ruck area and making sure when players want the ball they get the ball.”

Jordan Kahu ran freely in an opposed session against the Broncos team but is obviously unable to do contact work due to his injured pectoral muscle.

The Broncos’ defence is stronger with Glenn at centre and Su’A in the backrow.

Brisbane have lost five of their past seven games while the Storm are second on the ladder.

The Broncos could slip to seventh on the ladder if they lose to the Storm and the Bulldogs and Raiders win this weekend.

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[Dexter]

This is a massive game for us this week. If we win, our top 4 hopes ( barring upsets) will most likely come down to our rematch with the dogs.

Of 5 close games this year we have lost 4 by a combined total of 5 points.

I reckon we are specials this week.

 

[Sproj]

If we don't win this week, it is no big deal as long as we show huge improvement. BUT if we get flogged this week, the writing is on the wall. IF we win this week, we will win the premiership, that's my big call.

 

[Danoz Direct]

If we don't win this week, it is no big deal as long as we show huge improvement. BUT if we get flogged this week, the writing is on the wall. IF we win this week, we will win the premiership, that's my big call.

I like the positivity and I tend to agree.

 

[Huge]

hey @Huge is right ... we didn't lose a thing with Waddell filling in at hooker :takdir:

I take back everything negative i ever said about Macca ... he is a very important part of our team ... and we desperately miss him when he is injured. if we are going to be a chance this year we need to keep him on the field

Oh, did we play last night ? Shit, I missed it...with Macca back we brained them huh ? I've googled the results and can't find it..what did we win by ?

 

[Foordy]

Oh, did we play last night ? Shit, I missed it...with Macca back we brained them huh ? I've googled the results and can't find it..what did we win by ?

Or we can look at it this way ...

How was our winning record before Macca was injured.

And how has it been with Waddell as hooker.

In fact without Macca teams have been scoring far more points against us.

 

[broncos4life]

Why does praise for Macca and his affect on the team have to be taken as a slight against Waddell?

Waddell has far exceeded nearly everyone's expectations I would imagine and has done his best to cover for Macca during his absence. He hasn't shirked the work and has been more than adequate. I was never against him as the depth signing he is and am happy that he has changed some peoples minds.

For all of the great work Waddell has done that doesn't take away from the class and leadership Macca brings, and the combinations he, hunt and Milford have already formed. Add to that the confidence that he would bring to these guys and the rest of the team and he is a big in.

Why Huge has taken any of this as a slight against Waddell and felt the need to appoint himself as the defender of a guy that doesn't need defending is beyond me.

 

[Huge]

Or we can look at it this way ...

How was our winning record before Macca was injured.

And how has it been with Waddell as hooker.

In fact without Macca teams have been scoring far more points against us.

Stats don't make tackles. It seems that stats are important....but only when it suits an argument. Reserve your gloating for after the game and the return of McCullough has resulted in a stellar performance which results in a win for if we lose, the stats will say after the last one game we are 100% losers with Macca in the team !

I want Macca back too but Waddell was not the reason we were losing and Macca was not the only reason we won.

 

[ivanhungryjak]

BRISBANE players have taken ownership of their season by holding a private team meeting without coach Wayne Bennett to resurrect their teetering title campaign.

Broncos skipper Corey Parker has challenged the squad to “stick together” to haul Brisbane out of their form slump, starting against Melbourne on Friday night at Suncorp Stadium.

Brisbane’s leadership group took active steps to address the dismal 40-14 loss to Canterbury that sent last year’s grand finalists crashing out of the top four.

The Courier-Mail can reveal senior Broncos staff, including Bennett, left the inner-sanctum briefly after the Bulldogs defeat to allow Brisbane players to conduct a candid post-mortem.

Parker said it was not a crisis meeting, but evidence Broncos players are not relying on their master coach to deliver all the solutions to four losses from their past five games.

“We had a bit of chat as a team,” Parker said.

“There was no staff being kicked out. It was us having a yarn as a playing group.

“There’s a simple way to get out of this situation and it’s to stick together.

“It’s not panic stations. Look, our standards haven’t been reached lately but it’s been a difficult period with Origin and we accept that.

“There’s no other alternative. No disrespect to Melbourne, but we can’t be worrying about what the Storm are doing. It’s got to be about what we do and how we approach our game plan and execute it.

​

“We’ve had injuries along the way, but it doesn’t justify some of the displays lately.”

Bennett was blunt when asked about his team’s poor record, losing five of their past seven games.

“Our problems all started at the beginning of the rep season,” Bennett said.

“I bank on that. I know it is coming. They are distracted, simple as that.

“It always comes back to the halves but if the forwards are getting overrun in the middle, the halves are totally ineffective.”

Brisbane built their grand-final surge last season on an iron-clad tryline defence, but the Broncos missed a whopping 41 tackles in last week’s Bulldogs debacle.

The Storm have stolen Brisbane’s mantle as the NRL’s best defensive side this season, conceding just 11 points a game.

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