Five reasons the Broncos can win in 2014

[redbur95]

Five reasons the Broncos can win in 2014 - NRL.com

They struggled last season but there are some good signs that Brisbane can return to finals football in 2014.

1. New Barba's in town


It's the most talked about signing of the off-season but the great question still being posed by Broncos fans is exactly which Ben Barba their club has signed. Is it the dazzling, gravity-defying free spirit of 2012 who made carefully constructed defences look like hastily put-together walls of Lego? Or the distracted talent of 2013 who was unable to break free of the scrutiny that followed a pre-season club-imposed suspension?


An ankle injury suffered in his final game as a Bulldog has kept Barba from full training with his new club until recently but the open style of the Auckland Nines in February may be just what he needs to reignite the types of performances we came to expect from him. It will take time for Barba to return to his best and coach Anthony Griffin still has the positional equation to solve that sees him with two quality fullbacks and no recognised halves pairing but if the 2012 Dally M medallist is happy, he'll invariably bring smiles to those in the stands.


2. Great expectations


You don't finish a campaign with the tag of the 'worst Broncos in history' in a one-team town such as Brisbane without serious ripples reverberating throughout the entire organisation. Broncos fans – spread far and wide throughout Australia – have come to expect that they will be watching their team late into September and a repeat of their 12th-place finish next year would almost surely bring to an end the coaching tenure of Anthony Griffin.


In addition to the high-profile signature of Ben Barba the Broncos have made some very handy acquisitions in Martin Kennedy, Todd Lowrie and Daniel Vidot which adds depth to some key areas. The halves pairing still remains something of a mystery but the Broncos will be much improved in 2014... because they have to be.


3. Hunt may finally be over


When you are signed to a club such as the Broncos on a scholarship at the age of 13, plenty of good judges must believe that you have what it takes to make it at the highest level. But for some reason, ever since being named the inaugural National Youth Competition Player of the Year in 2008 Ben Hunt has struggled to assert himself as the first-choice No.7.


That may be about to change. With the retirement of Scott Prince and the departure of Peter Wallace to Penrith the Broncos are without a half with significant first-grade experience. But what may be perceived as a weakness could possibly become a strength. When Hunt was handed the reins towards the end of the 2013 season he started to deliver on the talent that was first spotted by the great Cyril Connell back in 2003. And with coach Anthony Griffin devoid of many other options, giving Hunt the stability to know he is the club's go-to man may be exactly what he needs to express his skills at the highest level.


4. Boys to men


When the Broncos qualified for the 2008 NYC Grand Final, many felt that the future of the proud club was in good hands. Halfback Ben Hunt was the player of the year, Jharal Yow Yeh was second only to Ben Barba in the list of top tryscorers and the likes of Josh Hoffman, Josh McGuire, Alex Glenn and Andrew McCullough were the heirs apparent in their respective positions. Add in team-mates from that side Brendon Gibb and Mitchell Dodds and the 2014 Broncos have club culture coursing through their veins.


The majority have become regular first-graders over the past five years with Glenn, Yow Yeh and Hoffman each playing international football but it is now time for these former prodigies to lead their club out of the doldrums. Glenn and McCullough have each played more than 100 NRL games while Hoffman and Hunt are poised to record that milestone in 2014. They are perfectly placed to step out of the shadows of that 2008 youth team and become the players that future generations of Broncos players will discuss in revered tones.


5. Tighter around the middle


It would seem somewhat contradictory that a team with two workhorses in the form of Corey Parker and Andrew McCullough would have a soft underbelly but there was no poorer performing team in the 2013 competition for missed tackles than the Broncos. McCullough made 994 tackles and Parker 926 but they and their team-mates missed a total of 757 tackles across the course of the season.


The fortunate addition of Lowrie, who has returned to Australia from the Warriors on compassionate grounds, provides some much-needed back-row support for Parker while the 122-kilogram presence of Kennedy will cover for the loss of Dunamis Lui to Manly and complement Ben Hannant, providing the sheer size that the Broncos lacked up front in 2013. David Hala was restricted to 13 games last season but if he is able to enjoy an injury-free 2014 then coach Anthony Griffin will have the soldiers at his disposal capable of building a premiership-winning defence.

Thoughts?

 

[Broncoman]

Some good points but whether Hunt can live up to expectations will be crucial to the teams chances you always need a match winning half to succeed. I still think our spine needs a lot of work. The spine from what we have now

1: A super player capable of scoring a try out of nothing
6: An unknown QLD cup player making his first strides into NRL premiership footy
7: A player that has big expectations laid on him finally locking down a permanent halfback spot after 5 seasons
9: A hooker that is a one-dimensional defensive player but his defense needs work. Isn't bad but isn't the best

 

[Splinter]

I cannot think of one reason we would win the comp 2014. Lets build for next year unless something transpires before next season

 

[Alec]

We won't win, but if you change the headline to "Five reasons the Broncos will improve", it's pretty gosh darn good.

 

[Charmamba]

I cannot think of one reason we would win the comp 2014. Lets build for next year unless something transpires before next season

I can...

Unpredictable, nobody knows what to actually expect from the Broncos this year. We don't know what style they will play and neither to opposition teams , if we can take the unpredictably early in the season to generate some wins, the confidence from that could very well be enough to drive the team further.

 

[subsbligh]

I can't think of a 6 reason we can win.

 

[subsbligh]

But seriously, I get this feeling the Broncos are going to let a lot of stuff slide in 2014 and have a ready made excuse of "no 5/8" to refer to when we lose.

Very interesting trials coming up.

Confidence, a bit of luck and a few more tries will probably get us in the 8. I'd be happy with a single finals win as a result for us in 2014.

 

[Cult]

Honestly we could have won a lot more games this year if we could hold out teams in the last 20 minutes. Fitness is the main thing we need to succeed and with corvo on board anything is possible for this year. So much negativity here. Sound like eels fans turning on our team.

 

[Dexter]

I can...

Unpredictable, nobody knows what to actually expect from the Broncos this year. We don't know what style they will play and neither to opposition teams , if we can take the unpredictably early in the season to generate some wins, the confidence from that could very well be enough to drive the team further.

Coach, A Griffin , we will play the same as last year only with a 1 who has speed and hands.

Barba will make a difference but not enough, I am more interested in who and how we improve looking forward to 2015 and 2016.

Kahu, if he plays 6, has a huge task, no recent experience at 6, has to be our main kicker, has to defend with a lot more traffic aimed at him and a lot of expectation, good luck kid, your gonna need it.

 

[subsbligh]

Honestly we could have won a lot more games this year if we could hold out teams in the last 20 minutes. Fitness is the main thing we need to succeed and with corvo on board anything is possible for this year. So much negativity here. Sound like eels fans turning on our team.

I completely agree.

And if we had a winger other than Maranta to actually get across the paint to capitalise on pressure we've built.

TBH, not having Milford for 2014 is a big deal.

Any young guy playing 6 next year knows even an marked improvement in himself will unlikely lead to a spot in 2015.

 

[Big Pete]

Wasn't there a stat last year which suggested the 60-80 minute period was generally our best portion of the match?

If anything, the Broncos biggest problem was starting each half where they'd generally concede cheap points and wouldn't have enough points in them to reel teams back.

 

[Cult]

I completely agree.

And if we had a winger other than Maranta to actually get across the paint to capitalise on pressure we've built.

TBH, not having Milford for 2014 is a big deal.

Any young guy playing 6 next year knows even an marked improvement in himself will unlikely lead to a spot in 2015.

Which could hopefully give whoever plays there a massive kick in the butt to play amazingly to at least attempt to keep their spot. I'd almost play Granville at 5/8 before Kahu.

 

[M.B.88]

Coach, A Griffin , we will play the same as last year only with a 1 who has speed and hands.

Barba will make a difference but not enough, I am more interested in who and how we improve looking forward to 2015 and 2016.

Kahu, if he plays 6, has a huge task, no recent experience at 6, has to be our main kicker, has to defend with a lot more traffic aimed at him and a lot of expectation, good luck kid, your gonna need it.

With Ben Hunt having a smiliar style of play to Cronk....I'd like to see Macca play a Smith role and be the leader, listening to Hunt like they do in Melb. I've said this many times. I think it can work!

 

[Alec]

With Ben Hunt having a smiliar style of play to Cronk....I'd like to see Macca play a Smith role and be the leader, listening to Hunt like they do in Melb. I've said this many times. I think it can work!

There's a difference between emulating Cronk, and emulating Cameron Smith. I personally think McCullough needs to give up on trying to be Smith.

 

[Russell Coight]

We may improve but we def won't win, at this point i think we will dwell in the bottom 8 most of the year. The fact the article says now is the perfect time for our 2008 NYC players to step out of the shadows of 2008 goes to show how pathetic we have been. If they couldn't step out of the shadows in 5 seasons there is no reason they will in 2014. Another main reason we won't win is Anthony Griffin.

 

[Broncoman]

The team should set them a smaller goal instead of winning the premership. Of course every team sets out to win the premiership at the start of the year but they set themselves smaller goals throughout the season.

A spot in the finals with a consistent year finishing as the highest QLD team would be a highly successful year next year, lay the platform for the future like the Cowboys 2003 season did. A lot of people say 2004 was the Cowboys breakthrough year but I still think 2003 was.

 

[Big Pete]

Cows began turning the corner in 02 when they brought Muz in as coach and they had that back three of Bowen, Williams & Sing. 03 was a step in the right direction but it wasn't till 04 they got it to click and rode a wave of momentum.

 

[Mr Fourex]

There's a difference between emulating Cronk, and emulating Cameron Smith. I personally think McCullough needs to give up on trying to be Smith.

Agree ...I cringe every time someone mentions McCullough and Smith in the same sentence.

McCullough needs to just focus on being the best he can be.

ie; Don't fall asleep with the ball in your hands as your about to pass and don't try and score from dummy half every time you're near the try line

Working on basic dummy half skills and forget about trying to be a ball player would do me. If he wants to do something fancy, try utilising his kicking game a bit more from the ruck. Occasionally he's capable of a good 40/20.