NRL finals 2015: Wayne Bennett says Broncos props Sam Thaiday and Adam Blair must stand up to Roosters
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BRONCOS coach Wayne Bennett has challenged props Adam Blair and Sam Thaiday to stand up to the Roosters pack tomorrow night and lead Brisbane to their first grand final in nine years.
The Broncos completed their final training run this morning without a hitch, ensuring they will be 1-17 for a blockbusting preliminary final showdown with the Roosters at Suncorp Stadium.
Brisbane’s most recent premiership triumph under Bennett in 2006 was spearheaded by the front-row firepower of Test warhorses Shane Webcke and Petero Civoniceva.
Bennett concedes his current bookends have few parallels to the Webcke-Civoniceva alliance, but he is backing the “Fro Bros” to bring down the minor premiers tomorrow night.
“You are right, they (Blair and Thaiday) are different to Petero and ‘Webby’ but they just keep getting the job done,” he said.
“That’s all you need, you mightn’t always have the best tools but you still have to get the job done.
“Adam and Sam have plenty of tools but they are different and they are doing their best each week.
“We needed a big guy like Josh McGuire (Broncos prop who tore his achilles mid-season) but we’ve done it without him.
“It comes down to the day, whatever challenge has been in front of them, they have stood up and met it.”
The Roosters beat the Broncos 12-10 in their most recent clash in round 24 in Sydney, a bruising encounter that saw Sydney prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves suffer a season-ending knee injury.
But despite the loss, Bennett rates it as the performance that convinced him his team had premiership-winning qualities.
“That five days in Sydney was the making of our season,” he said.
“Hopefully we get the benefits of that tomorrow night. I know what it meant to them and they came out the other side, they realised what was in front of them but what they could deliver.
“Sometimes you lose a game ... but you win.
“If we stick to what we know and there is only a few points in it with 10 or 15 minutes to go (tomorrow night), I know whose side I want to be on.
“We are definitely an 80-minute team, you only have to see how we finish over other teams late in the game. I just want to be in that position again.”
Bennett, meanwhile, urged all NRL players to take responsibility for the actions following the drug-related mishap involving Souths duo Dylan Walker and Aaron Gray.
Asked if addiction to painkilling drugs is rife in the NRL, Bennett said: “I don’t believe there is, but I don’t know enough about it, I just know the clubs I’ve been at and what I’ve seen.
“To my knowledge, it doesn’t happen here.
“I’m a bit over always blaming the game, I can’t tell you how much the game does for everybody. Are we perfect? No we’re not. Somewhere along the line someone has to take responsibility for their actions and behaviours.
“It can’t be the game every moment of the day, we have drug policies, we have so much governance in our game right now. I don’t believe the game is at fault.
“The people within the game that make poor decisions, they should be accountable and responsible. Don’t keep throwing it back at the game, what’s the game going to do about it. I’ve been in the game since birth and I know what we have today to what we had 5, 10, 15 years ago.
“I’ve been through all that. The game does so much and it’s about time these young men, regardless of what club they’re in, are made more accountable for their actions.”