Round 2 - Broncos vs Cowboys - Post Match Discussion

[GCBRONCO]

Amen! Glad to see his demotion hasn't got him down. To his credit, he's rolled up the sleeves and is really having a go.

One thing I really noticed was that he made a bunch of bootlace tackles right off their play the ball that killed their momentum dead.

Definitely, this is why I wanted the captaincy taken away from him too, concentrate on his own game, no burden of the captaincy and he will be freed to find his form again which he has done, I laugh at all the talk about him being disgruntled, he looks the happiest and playing the best football he has in ages. Now I see him as a senior member, able to "captain" in his own way through his actions and he certainly has done that so far this season. Deadset he looks like his got the hunger back, I predict a big SOO series from him if he stays fit.

 

[I bleed Maroon]

@ I bleed maroon. If you think hunt is the worst 7 in the game you're not watching enough football.

Wrong person buddy. I never said he is the worst.

 

[Unbreakable]

It was me who said he is the worst, and based on the first 2 rounds, nobody could really argue it, even Luke Kelly looks complete class compared to Hunt.

 

[Socnorb]

@Socnorb, no reason to get personal mate, if you look further up in the conversation, I equally praise him as well as point out deficiencies, but the argument for defending halves is done to death. I agree, he is a strong defender for a half, but that isn't what we need from his position. It's a nice plus that many halves have these days.

The negative nellies reference was not directed at you. Being in Sydney I'm on delayed telecast. So did not read posts till after the game. Uumm that's top 8 side number two for the year that we've beaten with our crap halves.I thought people would be mostly happy. But I read how crap hunt was . I apologise didn't intend to be personal

 

[Financeguy]

Great effort from the Broncos, showed good character and desperation for the 2nd week in a row.

Im not even going to dwell on any of the negatives, just enjoy the win. Awesome game by Thaiday.

i hope they keep the same 17 (or 16) for next week, the halves deserve another chance to show they can lead us around in 2014. I also think the coaching staff deserve some credit.

4 weeks ago I thought we were slim chances of beating the cowboys and no chance of beating the Roosters, I now think we are a real chance next week, well done Broncos!

 

[Socnorb]

All good mate ;) Let's cheers to a win :beer:

Totally agreed. I would not have been surprised to see us 0/2 . Thought we showed great intensity for much of tonight. Still,plenty to work on. Bring the rorters.

 

[I bleed Maroon]

4 weeks ago I thought we were slim chances of beating the cowboys and no chance of beating the Roosters, I now think we are a real chance next week, well done Broncos!

Indeed. Their game against the Eels this weekend is going to be very interesting to watch. If they only manage to win by a slim margin, I think they're very beatable.

 

[Unbreakable]

Why on earth is Jarrod Wallace even being picked if he's never going to play? I've never seen a coach purposely wear his players out by not using a prop off the bench..

 

[GCBRONCO]

Only temporary but the Broncos first grade and NYC are both top of the ladder haha, enjoy even if its only for tonight.

 

[Dee]

That was one of our grittiest and best wins in awhile. Heart attack stuff, but we truly looked dazzled there for most of the match, we lacked direction and our attack is pretty horrendous, but heart and desire got us the victory tonight, that never say die Broncos attitude was in full swing tonight. I'm not really impressed with the way we won that game, but I'm amazingly happy at our character and heart we have shown these first 2 rounds. We never give in!

 

[Rally Towel]

Back home, able to put some more coherent thoughts down. Funnily enough, I find it harder to evaluate after watching a game live, as I tend to remember individual moments/plays, rather than the entirety of a player's contribution.

- Macca is proving his detractors wrong with consistent 80 minute efforts. Still is not in the top tier of hookers, but really anyone who thinks he's mediocre needs to get a grip.

- Nice footwork from Gillett for the first try, and keep the crab walking to a minimum.

- Thaiday is coming back into his own playing back in his natural position. One would hope that Hook takes noticed because.....

- Parker still seems wasted at 10. I didn't see a single offload from him. Nonetheless, unflinching and lead from the front all night.

- Barba was a great as the link man in any of our backline plays. I'd love to see him make a real break ala 2012, but for now I;m grateful he's providing an extra option in attack, and the threat of his running game allows us more time to hold up the defense and pick the right option. Looked like his ankle was troubling him in the second half. Hope it was nothing serious.

- Backs were ok. A bit more polish on some of those plays could have seen us really pull ahead. Overall, about a 6/10 collectively:

- Maranta not as good as last week but defensively sound. Also, I know he has the face of an old man but it's a bit harsh they make him a mascot head in the video intros!

- Vidot is an animal. Seriously, that guy makes as much ground while in the tackle as Matt Scott. Poor effort on a bomb, otherwise solid showing.

- Reed put in a nice grubber, stayed busy all night. Better effort than last week.

- Copley had some good runs, and was only let down by some poor handling.

- Hoffman played better than last week. Can see why he was chosen over Kodi etc purely for his defense in the front line. Showed some enterprise with a grubber for a try and a reasonable pass or two. Didn't set the world on fire but a step up from last week.

- Hunt really had a night to forget. I don't know what Alf was teaching him this week, but he didn't seem to have paid much attention. Think he deserves another couple of weeks, but he really needs to stand up and be counted.

- Using 3/4 bench slots is ridiculous. I'm not noticing much impact from Kennedy and Hannant when they come on so I don't know why we don't start with them and bring on someone like McGuire later on whose mobility would be more advantageous?

- On that note, lets bring in Granville (or Kodi). Jake looks to be off to a good start with Wynnum, and didn't really put a foot wrong in his limited time last year. Has the potential to spark our attack when we're stuck in the grind.

- Like last week, the foundations of the win were commitment in defence and superior conditioning. Underrated qualities we sorely lacked last year, but we really need to get some attack happening. On that note....

- Not that we should pin all our hopes on him, but I reckon Hodges chiming into our backline will make a big difference. I hope we don't rush him back too early.

- Ashton Sims is a turbo douche.

 

[LockNLoad]

Highlights

 

[Broncoman]

Why on earth is Jarrod Wallace even being picked if he's never going to play? I've never seen a coach purposely wear his players out by not using a prop off the bench..

Hook is aspiring to be Tommy Raudonikis the second

 

[Harry Sack]

the cows did play pretty poorly you must admit.

The refs were spectacular for them though....

The cows have been poor for a long time actually. Shut down JT and they shit themselves, we did that well tonight. The Cows, IMO, need to make it this year or they've missed their window.

What's Hunt's deal? He was better last year so it seems like nerves, he actually couldn't have had a worse kicking game. Total rubbish, 95% of the time, every time.

His kicking game wasn't as noticeable last year because he had experience around him. Stick a natural half next to him and I think you see a different player. Better? Not necessarily, but different

i'm sure alfie langer didn't teach him to do a 40 metre field goal when only 4 points in front. he deserves a flogging for that.

Was perplexed...could not fathom why he did that. The only thing I could think of was he was trying to chew up the clock.

By their standards? I don't think so.

I believe people have this perception that the Cowboys are one of the top teams in the competition and they haven't been since 2007 when Bowen/JT were both at the peak of their powers. I think it's pretty clear they're in that second tier below Melbourne/Sydney/Souths/Manly. So by their standards, I thought they played to standard.They have a great pack that are going to roll through teams no matter what and when you give their playmakers that sort of space, they're going to make you pay. Fortunately, Brisbane were able to recover and while they kept testing us with inside balls (which is good coaching IMO) we were just better on the evening.

Brisbane were still pretty patchy with the ball, still plenty to work on but you can't doubt their character. Before last year, I wrote that as long as the team showed some character, an unwillingness to succumb to defeat I'd gladly cheer them and tonight was that sort of performance.

I'm not sure about you, but I'm content to enjoy this win for the rest of the weekend.

Agreed. See my post above

To be fair I think Hoffman played fairly well, setting up a try, defending well and generally just being dangerous. Hunt was not as bad as people think, although he still has ALOT of work to do.

Hoff was far better than Hunt tonight sadly. Did Hunt even find the grass with one of his kicks?

So fucking happy we came away with the win. Say what you will about our halves but I'm just a proud Broncos fan. We badly need a half, find someone in reserves from another club whose club is willing to let go and sign them.

We have a number of halves who I'm sure would love a call up...for some reason it isn't happening.

Glad for the win, but it was definitely far from convincing. It's a sorry state of affairs for Hunt when he's the worst of two halves playing alongside Hoffman. I thought Josh actually had a solid game, and he looked like he could be a longer term solution... with a decent half next to him. I like Hunt, but he's got to start showing some improvement fast.

Can anyone tell me why Maguire's 'high' shot went on report and Linnet's didn't? At least Maguire's looked accidental - Linnet actually had to reach up.

This. To quote Pauline..."please explain?"

I'm just glad the coach is using the talent he has in the squad and is playing some football instead of that shit they were doing last year.

We are not doing anything more than what a first grade side is supposed to do and we are doing it with below average halves and no kicking game.

The reads in D were really good under pressure particularly late in the game. I thought we could have gone to Copley a lot more he really is shaping up as a danger man in attack, Reed should start getting ready for the second row.

Agreed.

Hadley ......

I stopped there,,,,

I actually wish Prince stayed on one more season until Milford was here.

I believe they either thought we had Milford for this year, or that they thought Prince would stay on. Monumental **** up, either way.

 

[Sproj]

Barba - Did his job, injured in the second half.
Vidot - Brilliant, so much Tuquiri in him at times.
Reed - Was he out there? Outplayed by Copley again.
Copley - Made some mistakes but he is going to be a superstar.
Maranta - Solid though not as good as last week.
Hoffman - Very good game as a centre/Lock.
Hunt - Nowhere near as bad as some make out, mistakes yes but some very impressive plays and combinations developing but needs to improve kicking.
McGuire - Not a good game.
Macca - The Smith threat has made him go to a new level, absolutely top notch game.
Parker - As good as ever but needs to go back to lock.
Glenn - Strong runs and always busy.
Gillett - Not as great as last week, but not that far behind, very good game.
Thaiday - Great game, his best in ages.

Hannant - Solid but nowhere near what he can offer,
Kennedy - Didn't really notice him.
Lorie - Some nice plays, still not sure what he offers.
Wallace - Check your butt for splinters, there'll be plenty.

 

[Super Freak]

What's Hunt's deal? He was better last year so it seems like nerves, he actually couldn't have had a worse kicking game. Total rubbish, 95% of the time, every time.

Last year he had a better halves partner.

 

[GCBRONCO]

Maranta wasn't involved really attacking wise(could have been with that Copley opportunity though) he did make some good runs up the middle at times we needed work taken from the forwards and defensively he was strong again, hard to fault him on that basis.

 

[Morkel]

Shout out to the boys who came tonight. You know who you are. We were watching the field from almost behind the posts, on the second level, and it shows exactly how much better our defence is. The best way to describe it is committed. What I noticed is that even when an opposition runner has some room to move, not only is our defender holding on for their life, within moments we have backup defenders coming in from both sides to wrap up the ball. Last year they'd kind of hang around, maybe grab a jersey or something, but hold off in case an offload gets popped. Instead, they're now getting in there and making sure the offload doesn't happen. It's a mighty effort because it required a higher level of commitment and no room for even one player to slacken off - and that's where the additional fitness has been priceless.

Ben Hunt has to have the kicking duties taken off him. There were only two kicks I can remember that found the grass. One of which was the stupid field-goal attempt. The rest of his game was serviceable, not as bad as some are making out, the team just need a bit more time to gel and really get the combinations locked down. McCullough, Hoffman & Barba should be able to help out there.

And I'll repeat what I said last week, we're winning these games through our defence. A smaller, less experienced half may look sharper & more creative in attack, but in defence our structure will not work with any weak points. Seriously, without Hoffman defending in the halves, we could have easily leaked another 3 tries or so directly, and possibly more just by being more porous elsewhere in order to compensate for the weak link.