2012 is one of those years I've found myself thinking back on in recent times and so I decided to pull out the game that I think confirmed our worst fears that season: Round 20 vs. Gold Coast.
Line-Ups
Gold Coast Titans
1. Zillman 2. Gordon 3. Idris 4. Michaels 5. Mead
6. Sezer 7 Prince (c)
8. Bailey 9. Srama 10. Douglas 11. Myles 12. Minichiello 13. O'Dwyer
Bench: 14 White 15. James 17. Falloon 20. Peyroux
Brisbane Broncos
1. Hoffman 2. Beale 3. Glenn 4. Hodges 5. Maranta
6. Norman 7. Wallace
8. McGuire 9. McCullough 10. Civoniceiva 11. Gillett 12. Thaiday (c) 13. Parker
Bench: 14. Hunt 15. Te'o 16. Dodds 17. Hannant
Live thoughts. (Warning will be in-depth as I want to try and pin-point specific issues)
Hadley, Lewis and Vautin are our commentators for this one, joy...
3rd Minute - After the Titans make 70m in their second set - Brisbane are awarded a controversial penalty after Michaels is deemed to have stripped the ball from Hodges' grasp. It was a typical loose Hodgo carry but no doubt Michaels was playing at the ball - doesn't stop from Hadley and Fatty from carrying on.
4th Minute - Broncos cough it up on the 3rd after Glenn is unable to take an adventurous flick pass from Hoffman off the trademark second man play - Brisbane already feeling the effects of being Reed-less. Lewis actually tries to argue the ball went backwards - Wal at this point was becoming more and more partial to the Broncos.
6th Minute - After Hoffman marks a very easy Prince kick inside the in-goal, Brisbane make good ground down the left hand side after Gillett makes a nice surge where he picks out Prince. Wallace on the last puts in a chip kick for Beale but it's way too shallow and Beale ends up batting it forward for the easy turn over.
8th Minute - Beale is well positioned to cut off a 40/20 attempt from Sezer and the Broncos ruck it down to the Titans 40m so Norman can hoist the ball up which is knocked on by Mead after good pressure from Gillett & Maranta. Broncos ball on the 20m line.
10th Minute - Gordon is able to take a good cross-field kick from Wallace to defuse the situation. Brisbane had a good opportunity down the left but Prince came up with a good tackle on Hoffman which could be described as a try saver - Hoffman was standing too flat which made it easy for the future Bronco. The Broncos still had an opportunity down the left but Parker turned it back on the inside, and when Macca sent the ball back out that way, Norman decided to take the line on when the Broncos had space down the left.
11th Minute - Oh no! Brisbane restrict the Titans to 30m in a good defensive set, Gillett then comes up with a good charge down on a Prince kick only to make a meal of the ball when the Broncos would have been a sure thing to score a play later. Titans ball 20m out.
16th Minute - Both teams were just rucking it out - both are having success down their left hand sides. However, the Broncos are awarded back to back penalties - the first fair enough as Hoffman is taken off the ball while attempting to take a bomb - the other was controversial as Maxwell originally rules a knock on against Parker but the pocket referee calls strip and Maxwell goes with that call. Hadley is irate. It doesn't matter as Norman throws a silly forward pass to McGuire on third tackle for a cheap turn over.
18th Minute - Off a nice Hannant run, the Broncos make it well inside the Titans territory - Wallace is then sacked on the forth forcing Norman to kick. He puts a kick onto the short-side which is easily claimed by Zillman who bursts through a weak attempt at tackle from Hodges + Norman then Wallace before being claimed by Beale on the half-way. Titans have all the momentum but Sezer puts through a premature grubber which goes touch in goal.
25th Minute - Try to the Titans! Both sides were just grinding each other down with Broncos holding a marginal territorial victory. Norman on the last goes for a chip kick which Prince is able to read, he picks it up passes it to Zillman who then finds himself in space before linking up with Mead off a forward pass. Lewis reacts to it but Fatty plays it off like it isn't a big deal. 6-0 Titans.
27th Minute - Good post-try set from the Titans has the Broncos in all sorts of trouble but the referees gift them a soft relieving penalty which puts them back on attack. Nothing set but Wallace is able to earn a nice repeat off a well placed grubber which Michaels is forced to take dead. Goal-line drop out to the Broncos.
30th Minute - It comes to naught for the Broncos as Glenn spills a loose offload from Matt Gillett. Broncos looked dangerous that set, especially when they were able to link a few passes together but it just isn't happening for them. Titans are awarded a penalty after a lifting tackle on James and now the Titans are on attack.
32nd Minute - Titans bomb a dead cert try - the Titans once again expose the lax defence of Hodges who's having a shocker and Zillman runs right past him and tries to link up with Michaels who spills it. Pass looked forward once again but refs seemed to only call the knock on.
35th Minute - TRY Broncos. Wallace hoists it up down to David Mead and Matt Gillett is able to beat him to the ball and finds Norman back on the inside who goes over untouched. That has really rubbed the salt into the Titans wounds and Parker bangs it over to level the scores. 6 all.
37th Minute - Broncos earn another cheap penalty and have the ball down deep in the Titans end only for Parker to spill it on the third. Bit of a mixed game from Parker, he was the guy who missed the earlier tackle on Zillman and was lucky to receive a penalty earlier in the game. He's been busy but hasn't made the in-roads he's usually capable of.
40th Minute - Broncos with one last opportunity as Gillett once again troubles Prince with a confident run but a desperate tackle from Idris causes the ball to spill loose. Titans ruck it out before Prince kicks it to Maranta giving the Broncos one last right of reply where Te'o barrels Michaels over with a sick 'don't argue'. Brisbane try and roll the dice before half-time but a cut-out pass from Wallace misses the mark and Glenn takes the ball and accepts the hit up.
HALF TIME
Gold Coast 6 (Mead try, Prince 1/1 goals)
Brisbane 6 (Norman try, Parker 1/1 goals)
Thoughts: Brisbane have had their opportunities but failed to build any pressure either due to some low percentage plays or blatant poor options. Apart of the problem is that the three quaters aren't playing well - Glenn is clearly struggling out-wide and Hodgo doesn't appear to be 100% but everyone is looking a little lethargic after a physical game against the Warriors a week ago.
42nd Minute Broncos get the second half under-way with a relatively good set. Norman puts up another bomb down the left which at first looks too shallow but the Titans let it bounce which nearly causes them to kick a goal line drop out only for Maxwell to penalise Maranta for continuing on with the tackle. He admits it was an unlucky call but it was a black and white call.
44th Minute - Both teams turn over the ball - Peyroux throws a silly pass intended for Idris which is taken by Gillett but two tackles later, Te'o loses it after storming onto an inside pass from Wallace. Titans ball on their 30.
47th Minute - Arguably the Broncos best set of the game - the boys are starting to string some passes together and are creating a lot of gaps in the Titans defence. In the end, Hunt goes down the short side to Hodges who puts through a grubber kick that's just a little too deep.
49th Minute - Argh, what a stupid penalty from Wallace! Prince and O'Dwyer hit Hoffman with a heavy tackle which Wallace takes offence to and he drags his future halves partner off Hoffman and starts a commotion which results in the Titans receiving the ball inside the Broncos 20m zone. Dumb dumb dumb. Thaiday is also cautioned for third-manning. Thankfully Peyroux knocks on from an improvised play from Prince on the last. Peyroux has been the worst player on the park so far and he's only played 10 minutes. :laugh:
52nd Minute - What a weird passage of play. Hannant makes a nice strip on Myles only for Ben Hunt to throw a forward pass on the next play. Titans scrum on the Broncos 40 and they turn it over when Sezer tries a grubber on tackle one and Gillett is able to take it. In the end, the Broncos kick it dead after Wallace once again misses the mark on a cut-out pass forcing Beale to put together an improvised grubber which goes dead. BP Coaching, unless there's nobody in-front of you, just die with the ball in that situation and force them out of the corner.
57th Minute - Broncos force a goal line drop out after a really good kick from Wallace that finds space right in the in-goal and forces Prince to play at before he's eventually tackled right next to the up-rights.
59th Minute - McGuire spills it on the third - that's been the story of the night for the Broncos. Idris on the previous play laid Glenn out with a beauty of a shoulder charge. Then as the Titans are rucking it out, Te'o hits Bailey with an ugly high tackle which places him on report and gifts the Titans possession inside the Broncos half.
64th Minute - TRY TITANS. Well what a double whammy, Broncos looked soft as Douglas made a mini-break on tackle one and a few tackles later, Bailey is able to beat the tackle of McGuire and go over adjacent to the up-rights. However, Bailey is upset at something. Maxwell goes upstairs and it's revealed that Hoffman has clocked him with a fist that was intended for his arm. Oh nothing can go right for the Broncos...and it's now deemed an 8 point try and Hoffman is on report. Prince converts more opportunities and burns a lot of time on the clock. 14-6 Titans
68th Minute - Brisbane on the back of a penalty (their first of the second half) work it down the Titans end and have a very ordinary set which was lucky not to have ended on tackle 3 when Hodges spilled a Macca face pass, but it went backwards straight to Te'o. However, Hodges would later spoil it when he ignored the stacked left hand corner and decided to go right where the Titans always had the numbers. He's had a better second half Hodgo but it was a bad set from him right there.
72nd Minute - Not a whole lot doing for the Broncos who desperately need points. They're finding space on the fringes but they're having trouble building on those plays and spreading the ball - Wallace will looks for options and seemingly has little to work with. In this instance, the Broncos work an improvised play down the right which sees Beale make a half-break only to kick it straight to a Titans player standing just in-front of him. Game is just about gone at this point.
74th Minute - Bleh, another poor last tackle option - after doing well to spread the ball inside their own 20 and make a good 60m, Wallace attempts a trick play grubber kick which is gathered just about as easily as Beale's previous attempt.
76th Minute - Game well and truly over as Wallace throws a forward pass to Gillett inside the Broncos 30m zone. Hodges is off which means Ben Hunt is playing right centre and Civoniceiva who has been off since the 17th minute mark only just made his return.
77th Minute - NO-TRY TITANS. Prince puts through a probing kick into the Broncos in-goal and O'Dwyer is johnny on the spot but he's unable to ground it. Let off for the Broncos who admittedly defended their line well.
80th Minute - TRY BRONCOS Te'o finishes off a nice consolation try which saw Norman throw a nice cut-out pass to Beale who finds Hunt (!!) playing on the wing, Benny then sums up the situation with a good pass back in the middle for Te'o to score. Parker misses the conversion 14-10 Titans
Gold Coast 14 (Mead, Bailey tries; Prince 3/3 goals)
Brisbane 10 (Norman, Te'o tries; Parker 1/1, Wallace 0/1 goals)
Final thoughts: Frustrating night at the office for the Broncos - it was pretty clear that a bunch of key players weren't fit following the Warriors clash (eg. Parker, Hodges, McGuire) and some weren't comfortable with the makeshift positioning (Glenn) but they really didn't do themselves any favours. I just didn't think they played smart footy - their timing was off on simple plays and they continually took wrong options when they had great field territory. They just needed to follow a simple gameplan which would see them target the fringes of the Titans and try and isolate the defence so Gillett & Te'o could strike. Unfortunately, there just wasn't enough organisation out there tonight.
Titans didn't have that many shots at the Broncos line, but when they were given one in the second half, they made them pay the maximum penalty.
Also, if you want a golden example of Hook misusing his bench, this was your game. He had Civoniceiva sit on the bench from the 17th minute right up until the 76th while McGuire was stinking it up. Dodds didn't make it out onto the field until that time either - silly stuff.
