Broncos Roster, Signings and Rumours Discussion 2023

[Wolfie]

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I believe this was a very poor year for Staggs in comparison to how well he could be playing. I think we should replace Riki with Staggs in the backrow.. Staggs can just focus on his powerful running game for the most part, not having to worry about setting up his winger etc..

As much as I think Kotoni could be a good back rower, you do know he barely played back row for Redcliffe.

 

[upthebroncs]

As much as I think Kotoni could be a good back rower, you do know he barely played back row for Redcliffe.

Yes, was just providing a point of reference for some that would think it's out of the question.

Here's some footage. There's a couple of tries from the backrow near the start of the vid

Kotoni Staggs 2018 highlights

It was a breakout year for young Redcliffe Dolphins and Brisbane Broncos player Kotoni Staggs. Staggs was named 2018 Intrust Super Cup - Centre of the Year.

www.qrl.com.au

 

[Wolfie]

Yes, was just providing a point of reference for some that would think it's out of the question.

Different ball game filling in for a game or 2 though in Queensland cup to the weekly grind of the NRL. At the moment he is struggling to play center consistently well, not sure he can do it in the back row.

 

[upthebroncs]

Different ball game filling in for a game or 2 though in Queensland cup to the weekly grind of the NRL. At the moment he is struggling to play center consistently well, not sure he can do it in the back row.

Yes, agreed. I personally would be looking to offload him to another club. Has a lot of talent, but I don't think he's a great fit at the Broncos especially if he's getting paid 600k+

I think getting rid of Riki who is on 400k for another 3 years (off the top of my head) is a bigger problem that needs addressing though.

 

[Dexter]

Yes, agreed. I personally would be looking to offload him to another club. Has a lot of talent, but I don't think he's a great fit at the Broncos especially if he's getting paid 600k+

I think getting rid of Riki who is on 400k for another 3 years (off the top of my head) is a bigger problem that needs addressing though.

I guarantee you if Riki went to the right club in 12 months he would be another example of what we let go.
It's up to our coaching staff to get the most from him .
Running the crash line and serving him up on a platter is just not fair on the kid.
We have to be better at that play or it won't matter who plays on the edge.

 

[mitch222]

Katoni doesn't have the defence to be a backrower. He is already at liability at centre defensively.

 

[mitch222]

I guarantee you if Riki went to the right club in 12 months he would be another example of what we let go.
It's up to our coaching staff to get the most from him .
Running the crash line and serving him up on a platter is just not fair on the kid.
We have to be better at that play or it won't matter who plays on the edge.

Here's the problem though, when Robati gets a game he runs a good line and creates an opportunity practically every game. Even PIakura looked threatening against the dragons. He doesn't help his cause with the fact that his hands are ordinary.

 

[BroncosFever]

I dunno Riki just seems like a good defender and not much else. His hands are pretty average, he doesn't threaten the line, he doesn't have any offload or x factor about himself. His main two positives seem to be he's a good defender (so are most 2nd rowers) and he's a real team player, one of the first to celebrate tries and/or being a good guy at training or whatever.

Hell even Alex Glenn at least used to have a good running game and dined out on the fringes when he was younger.

but everyone knows that I don't rate him too highly, I would happily lose him in exchange for someone else/freeing up space.

Really? I have seen him make some lazy efforts not pushing up from the inside. I think he's the kind of guy who needs some time in the QLD Cup but for us, he's the 2nd best edge backrower at the club, the other being Capewell.

He won a few of us over when he committed to the club at a time when apparently everyone wanted out but he needs to find another cog or two to win us over on the field.

 

[Wolfie]

He needs to show an improvement in his game next year. He is still pretty young for a forward.

 

[Renegade]

Really? I have seen him make some lazy efforts not pushing up from the inside. I think he's the kind of guy who needs some time in the QLD Cup but for us, he's the 2nd best edge backrower at the club, the other being Capewell.

He won a few of us over when he committed to the club at a time when apparently everyone wanted out but he needs to find another cog or two to win us over on the field.

I'm sure he's not perfect in D but he generally puts in and his tackle efficiency is quite good, remember it due to the Fifita v Riki discussion a while back. Agree with your last sentence.

Like I think you could replace Riki with probably 20 other 2nd rowers in this comp and we wouldn't miss a thing. Totally replaceable at this stage.

 

[Dexter]

Well I've said all I have have to say re Riki. Time will tell.
I do find it amazing how he is being compared to some others who have played very few minutes by comparison and mostly compared in attack which is the only thing so many posters on here seem to value.
When Piakura and company are playing 80 min nearly every week that will be a better comparison.
I have nothing against TC or Piakura BTW , if they can step up and force their way into the side all the better but comparing literally only a few minutes of NRL against what Riki has been asked to do , please.
Riki has been asked to play like a seasoned NRL backrower.
The other 2 guys are only 20 with 17 and 2 games respectively.
I doubt either of them could step up at this stage of their careers and do a better job.

 

[Culhwch]

There definitely needs to be genuine competition for spots, particularly in places like the backrow where we have a handful of promising young players. Capewell retains his spot as the proven veteran head and with the hope he regains some form, and Riki, Piakura and Robati battle it out for the other starting spot and a bench spot.

As much as I'm backing Kev, one of his biggest flaws is selection headscratchers, sometimes picking and sticking, sometimes churning through players. In this case the players should know that the spots are there for the taking, and the form players are the ones that will be playing each week.

 

[mitch222]

Well I've said all I have have to say re Riki. Time will tell.
I do find it amazing how he is being compared to some others who have played very few minutes by comparison and mostly compared in attack which is the only thing so many posters on here seem to value.
When Piakura and company are playing 80 min nearly every week that will be a better comparison.
I have nothing against TC or Piakura BTW , if they can step up and force their way into the side all the better but comparing literally only a few minutes of NRL against what Riki has been asked to do , please.
Riki has been asked to play like a seasoned NRL backrower.
The other 2 guys are only 20 with 17 and 2 games respectively.
I doubt either of them could step up at this stage of their careers and do a better job.

Riki shouldn't be playing 80 minutes though. The coach needs to stop putting a third middle on the field and play a second rower off the bench that is capable of floating in at lock and second row.

 

[Dexter]

Riki shouldn't be playing 80 minutes though. The coach needs to stop putting a third middle on the field and play a second rower off the bench that is capable of floating in at lock and second row.

Well that's a completely different argument.
Having edge players who can play 80 is gold or should be as far as your bench rotation goes.
Depends what the coach is looking for I guess.

 

[Big Pete]

The Broncos began last season with Robati on the bench, but what ended up happening is they struggled to find a way to bring him into the game. Usually he'd come on in the final 20 or so minutes and he'd give away penalties or make mistakes. It wasn't until he went back to QCup for an extended period and was brought back to play a specific role that he played well (I'd argue he was among the Broncos best vs Rabbits and vs. Raiders).

You could certainly go back to it, but the individual player has to be playing like they belong in your Top 17, otherwise it's a square peg in a round hole.

Speaking of modern trends, I find it interesting that teams now use a loose forward an edge. Players like Gilbert, Arrow, Butcher even NAS are popping up on an edge while the lock forward is usually being taken up by dummy halves. I wonder if there's any merit to play Carrigan there to bolster the defence?

 

[Mustafur]

Katoni doesn't have the defence to be a backrower. He is already at liability at centre defensively.

Centre is much harder to defend as a position then backrow, it's probably the hardest position in the game to defend from, because the winger will tend to space away from you to cover the edge and the gap between you and the half will be naturally large anyway if the attacking team is moving to that side.

As a bench forward you get way more backup in defense and are not expected to have most of your tackles being 1v1.

Moving a centre to backrow is much easier then a backrow to centre.

 

[BroncsFan]

The Broncos began last season with Robati on the bench, but what ended up happening is they struggled to find a way to bring him into the game. Usually he'd come on in the final 20 or so minutes and he'd give away penalties or make mistakes. It wasn't until he went back to QCup for an extended period and was brought back to play a specific role that he played well (I'd argue he was among the Broncos best vs Rabbits and vs. Raiders).

You could certainly go back to it, but the individual player has to be playing like they belong in your Top 17, otherwise it's a square peg in a round hole.

Speaking of modern trends, I find it interesting that teams now use a loose forward an edge. Players like Gilbert, Arrow, Butcher even NAS are popping up on an edge while the lock forward is usually being taken up by dummy halves. I wonder if there's any merit to play Carrigan there to bolster the defence?

I would like to see Kobe add edge forward to his arsenal... it would assist us if he could jump on the edge as injury cover instead of a larger "third prop" style middle.

 

[mrslong]

I saw a rumour that the broncos are taking 3 games to the Gabba and now I know we’ve lost our minds