PRE-GAME [Round 19, 2025] Broncos vs Titans

[Manofoneway]

Based off Madge's history, everybody backs up.

I'd like to see Payne and Patty especially given the game off so they have a 2 week break.

Ideally Hunt or Mozer comes in for Paix. He's just average.

Apart from throwing marginally nicer looking passes sometimes, he's just not that great.

The amount of times reyno had to reach for heavens nipples to catch a ball was concerning. Also I noticed that Billy switched up our end of sets multiple times because they were obviously rushing reyno from certain parts of the field blocking his kicking angles. Paix just doesnt have the smarts to realise that stuff.

 

[BroncsFan]

Based off Madge's history, everybody backs up.

I'd like to see Payne and Patty especially given the game off so they have a 2 week break.

Ideally Hunt or Mozer comes in for Paix. He's just average.

With that win and off the back of the game from Willison I could see Payne getting a rest.

Patty needs a rest too, but that could come down to how many minutes he plays in origin.

If they get a rest then it's a 2 week break until the run home to the finals.

Issues is we have no props other than Willison, so his hand might be forced.

Expecting them both to be named

 

[GCBRONCO]

With that win and off the back of the game from Willison I could see Payne getting a rest.

Patty needs a rest too, but that could come down to how many minutes he plays in origin.

If they get a rest then it's a 2 week break until the run home to the finals.

Issues is we have no props other than Willison, so his hand might be forced.

Expecting them both to be named

IMO at least one of them has to back up and I'm tempted more to give Haas the much needed break given Carrigan's form and that Haas is carrying an injury .

 

[Hypex]

I will go against the grain here again and say, when we are manning a full strength side, I think Cobbo could potentially be the best choice for the 17 jumper. I present my own for and against thoughts:

For
- I can't see Gosiewski, Junt, Smoothy, Talty or Baker having the same level of impact as what Cobbo could within the last 20 minutes of a game. I feel his major short comings lately have been primarily mental, which then has been impacting every other aspect of his game. Giving him simple minutes with a simple game plan, I bet would bring the best out of whatever he has left. The kid with ball in hand can still bust tackles better than most, certainly more than the names mentioned above.

- Utility wise Cobbo covers the entire backline.

- What he lacks in effort, he makes up in raw skill and come finals, sometimes its that something special that is needed to get the win.

- It would be experimental, if it doesn't work then so what.

Against
- He looks lazy, disinterested and error prone, should this be rewarded with a spot in the side?

- We have a second row problem where they either get injured, knocked out, or play awful. Gosiewski at 17 ensures we have a plan B in case of any of the above happens (Though I would prefer for Kobe or Carrigan to simply shift, and Xavier play longer minutes). However as we have all seen over the last few weeks, this is becoming less prominent in particular with Piakura who continues to be my favourite player this season.

- Would Cobbo be able to keep up with the defensive workload possibly required playing infield if a forward were to go down? I would say unlikely, or at least not to the level of Gosiewski. And as defence wins games, this could be something teams would target.

Verdict
For me the For outweigh the Against, though I understand this is probably an unpopular opinion. I believe our best 1-16 can win this competition, with that 17 jumper to be the final card up our sleeve, the glass to break when things are dire.

 

[BooKhaki]

I will go against the grain here again and say, when we are manning a full strength side, I think Cobbo could potentially be the best choice for the 17 jumper. I present my own for and against thoughts:

For
- I can't see Gosiewski, Junt, Smoothy, Talty or Baker having the same level of impact as what Cobbo could within the last 20 minutes of a game. I feel his major short comings lately have been primarily mental, which then has been impacting every other aspect of his game. Giving him simple minutes with a simple game plan, I bet would bring the best out of whatever he has left. The kid with ball in hand can still bust tackles better than most, certainly more than the names mentioned above.

- Utility wise Cobbo covers the entire backline.

- What he lacks in effort, he makes up in raw skill and come finals, sometimes its that something special that is needed to get the win.

- It would be experimental, if it doesn't work then so what.

Against
- He looks lazy, disinterested and error prone, should this be rewarded with a spot in the side?

- We have a second row problem where they either get injured, knocked out, or play awful. Gosiewski at 17 ensures we have a plan B in case of any of the above happens (Though I would prefer for Kobe or Carrigan to simply shift, and Xavier play longer minutes). However as we have all seen over the last few weeks, this is becoming less prominent in particular with Piakura who continues to be my favourite player this season.

- Would Cobbo be able to keep up with the defensive workload possibly required playing infield if a forward were to go down? I would say unlikely, or at least not to the level of Gosiewski. And as defence wins games, this could be something teams would target.

Verdict
For me the For outweigh the Against, though I understand this is probably an unpopular opinion. I believe our best 1-16 can win this competition, with that 17 jumper to be the final card up our sleeve, the glass to break when things are dire.

Disagree. Horrible idea.

 

[Allo]

I see what Hypex is getting at - it's basically a play him as a roaming 5/8th-lock and play some ad-lib backyard footy for 20-odd minutes a game. Doesn't have to take 15+ hitups from fullback/wing and turn and chase kicks or catch bombs.

Problem is this player only works if you have a completely dominant, in-form 1-16, that are always in control and/or you're in front by 20+ against a team you know is broken. We aren't there yet

It's a luxury at best and a hail mary at worst, and Madge doesn't strike me as a gambler

And he's leaving, so honestly who cares about how much game time he's getting right now

 

[Johnny92]

I see what Hypex is getting at - it's basically a play him as a roaming 5/8th-lock and play some ad-lib backyard footy for 20-odd minutes a game. Doesn't have to take 15+ hitups from fullback/wing and turn and chase kicks or catch bombs.

Problem is this player only works if you have a completely dominant, in-form 1-16, that are always in control and/or you're in front by 20+ against a team you know is broken. We aren't there yet

It's a luxury at best and a hail mary at worst, and Madge doesn't strike me as a gambler

And he's leaving, so honestly who cares about how much game time he's getting right now

If he was staying it's something you'd try because when he's happy and in form he's definitely in our best 17 and someone who can pull something out of nothing.

Unfortunately he's out of form because he's not happy, I don't think he's a lazy player he's just unhappy and doesn't want to be there it seems.

 

[theshed]

If he was staying it's something you'd try because when he's happy and in form he's definitely in our best 17 and someone who can pull something out of nothing.

Unfortunately he's out of form because he's not happy, I don't think he's a lazy player he's just unhappy and doesn't want to be there it seems.

I do think he’s lazy. He was sweating bullets and gasping for air after 15 minutes. As he has done for 90% of the last 2 seasons. His conditioning seems terrible

 

[_wwong]

Based off Madge's history, everybody backs up.

I'd like to see Payne and Patty especially given the game off so they have a 2 week break.

Ideally Hunt or Mozer comes in for Paix. He's just average.

Patty will only be playing 10 minutes of origin anyway.

 

[McHunt]

I will go against the grain here again and say, when we are manning a full strength side, I think Cobbo could potentially be the best choice for the 17 jumper. I present my own for and against thoughts:

For
- I can't see Gosiewski, Junt, Smoothy, Talty or Baker having the same level of impact as what Cobbo could within the last 20 minutes of a game. I feel his major short comings lately have been primarily mental, which then has been impacting every other aspect of his game. Giving him simple minutes with a simple game plan, I bet would bring the best out of whatever he has left. The kid with ball in hand can still bust tackles better than most, certainly more than the names mentioned above.

- Utility wise Cobbo covers the entire backline.

- What he lacks in effort, he makes up in raw skill and come finals, sometimes its that something special that is needed to get the win.

- It would be experimental, if it doesn't work then so what.

Against
- He looks lazy, disinterested and error prone, should this be rewarded with a spot in the side?

- We have a second row problem where they either get injured, knocked out, or play awful. Gosiewski at 17 ensures we have a plan B in case of any of the above happens (Though I would prefer for Kobe or Carrigan to simply shift, and Xavier play longer minutes). However as we have all seen over the last few weeks, this is becoming less prominent in particular with Piakura who continues to be my favourite player this season.

- Would Cobbo be able to keep up with the defensive workload possibly required playing infield if a forward were to go down? I would say unlikely, or at least not to the level of Gosiewski. And as defence wins games, this could be something teams would target.

Verdict
For me the For outweigh the Against, though I understand this is probably an unpopular opinion. I believe our best 1-16 can win this competition, with that 17 jumper to be the final card up our sleeve, the glass to break when things are dire.

I have the same fantasy. One where Cobbo would be more useful off the bench than the likes of Hunt or Gos. But then the reality of this sets in:

Against
- He looks lazy, disinterested and error prone, should this be rewarded with a spot in the side?

 

[Jeffy]

Other issue is Cobbo is poor at tackling. He made half a dozen tackles in the line against dogs and they generated ruck momentum from him being too lazy to wrestle and win the tackle.

It's an idea, but sounds like it will play out like Atkinson defending in the middle with the Sharks.

 

[Mr Fourex]

I will go against the grain here again and say, when we are manning a full strength side, I think Cobbo could potentially be the best choice for the 17 jumper. I present my own for and against thoughts:

For
- I can't see Gosiewski, Junt, Smoothy, Talty or Baker having the same level of impact as what Cobbo could within the last 20 minutes of a game. I feel his major short comings lately have been primarily mental, which then has been impacting every other aspect of his game. Giving him simple minutes with a simple game plan, I bet would bring the best out of whatever he has left. The kid with ball in hand can still bust tackles better than most, certainly more than the names mentioned above.

- Utility wise Cobbo covers the entire backline.

- What he lacks in effort, he makes up in raw skill and come finals, sometimes its that something special that is needed to get the win.

- It would be experimental, if it doesn't work then so what.

Against
- He looks lazy, disinterested and error prone, should this be rewarded with a spot in the side?

- We have a second row problem where they either get injured, knocked out, or play awful. Gosiewski at 17 ensures we have a plan B in case of any of the above happens (Though I would prefer for Kobe or Carrigan to simply shift, and Xavier play longer minutes). However as we have all seen over the last few weeks, this is becoming less prominent in particular with Piakura who continues to be my favourite player this season.

- Would Cobbo be able to keep up with the defensive workload possibly required playing infield if a forward were to go down? I would say unlikely, or at least not to the level of Gosiewski. And as defence wins games, this could be something teams would target.

Verdict
For me the For outweigh the Against, though I understand this is probably an unpopular opinion. I believe our best 1-16 can win this competition, with that 17 jumper to be the final card up our sleeve, the glass to break when things are dire.

Some of that thinking is horrible......

Coming off the bench? I think he'd be even more disinterested because he'd be sulking wearing the no.17 jersey. He's that mentally immature.

I thought he was our worst Friday night.

If you aint stayin'...then you aint playin'
is how I look at it.

 

[Hypex]

McHunt described it best, it's more a fantasy of mine, rather than analysis. But in my defence, Billy had the same idea Game 1 SOS last year, though not sure if that reflects well on me or poorly on Billy.

 

[BroncsFan]

McHunt described it best, it's more a fantasy of mine, rather than analysis. But in my defence, Billy had the same idea Game 1 SOS last year, though not sure if that reflects well on me or poorly on Billy.

He did play that role a couple years back as well.

Mariner was on the bench vs dogs at Belmore when we had all the origin players out.

Selwyn started the game, but played a fair chunk of it at lock, because we had run out of middle forwards for that game as well.

Prior to the game Selwyn was saying that he used to play lock as a junior coming through... so Cobbo being the 17 on the bench is potentially a legit option, but the concern would be his mentality and lack of fitness at the moment.

Peak Selwyn off the bench would be a nightmare to the defence and he covers any injuries from 1-5... people ask how does he fit into the dolphins, off the bench might be an option they're considering.

 

[McHunt]

McHunt described it best, it's more a fantasy of mine, rather than analysis. But in my defence, Billy had the same idea Game 1 SOS last year, though not sure if that reflects well on me or poorly on Billy.

I think the fantasy might have legs by the time we get into the finals if he's killing it in Cup. Never again at fullback, but if you're flipping between J Hunt and Selwyn with 15 to go, who's more likely to strike deep fear into the opposition?

 

[1910]

He did play that role a couple years back as well.

Mariner was on the bench vs dogs at Belmore when we had all the origin players out.

Selwyn started the game, but played a fair chunk of it at lock, because we had run out of middle forwards for that game as well.

Prior to the game Selwyn was saying that he used to play lock as a junior coming through... so Cobbo being the 17 on the bench is potentially a legit option, but the concern would be his mentality and lack of fitness at the moment.

Peak Selwyn off the bench would be a nightmare to the defence and he covers any injuries from 1-5... people ask how does he fit into the dolphins, off the bench might be an option they're considering.

It works with a player like Cobbo because you don't let him mentally stare out the window at fullback. Let him drive.

Vidot was a bit the same, if you can get him in the forwards and things to do then you can get a good 20 minutes out of him.

Problem with those players is if they turn up not in the mood to do stuff.

 

[heartly87]

We just have to go out with a high completion and defence focused mentality. The points will come without us needing to chase them. A methodical demolition of the Tits will see us hit 50+.

 

[dejan]

Paix's service gives me the shivers. Every ball he passed looks like it is going to be dropped or intercepted.

If Jensen is okay to play next week, you'd ideally swap Smoothy for him, and bench Kobe for Patty. Let Payne have a 2-week rest, because he will be instrumental for the weeks into finals from a forward perspective. Hopefully BHunt comes in for Paix. J Hunt and Smoothy Out. I choose Talty over J Hunt based on the minutes he played, and he wasn't bad defensively, looked a bit gassed 10 minutes in and needs to be NRL seasoned more. It is honestly a good opportunity against Titans to get him some more minutes. Because if a prop goes down, he will need to stand up.

Walsh
Arthars
Shiba
Staggs
Karapani
Ezra
Rey
Jensen
BHunt
Willison
Piaks
Riki
Patty

Walters
Kobe
Talty
Gos

If anything, I do feel like that the Bulldogs game showed that all our depth is on the same page. Smoothy and J Hunt weren't too bad, just better options are preferred.