P
Pushkin
QCup Player
- May 27, 2016
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Brisbane seek derby revenge with secret kicking sessions at Suncorp
PETER BADEL, @badel_cmail, The Courier-Mail
BRONCOS players have taken the unprecedented step of staging closed kicking sessions at Suncorp Stadium to give Brisbane an edge at the home of Queensland rugby league.
A select group of Brisbane stars, led by Ben Hunt and Anthony Milford, have begun doing extras at Suncorp in the lead-up to Friday night’s derby blockbuster against the Cowboys.
Hunt and Milford initially joined the entire Broncos squad yesterday morning at Red Hill, the scene of Brisbane’s daily training sessions for the past 29 years.
But Brisbane’s star halves later broke from the group and were ferried to Suncorp, where they worked on their tactical kicking as they prepare for the Queensland derby.
Hunt and Milford were joined by hooker Andrew McCullough and wingers Jordan Kahu and Corey Oates.
They were put through their paces by former Brisbane Lions AFL defender Daniel Merrett, who has been employed by the Broncos this season as a kicking-and-catching consultant.
The Suncorp sessions are expected to continue throughout the year, with the group having worked on their catching and kicking at the venue for the past month.
Hunt attracted fresh criticism over his kick options in last week’s season-opening defeat of the Sharks and is working overtime to fine-tune the weakest part of his game.
Broncos prop Adam Blair hopes the additional sessions will pay dividends as Brisbane seek revenge for last year’s crushing finals loss to the Cowboys.
“The boys have gone off to Suncorp, they have been doing it weekly,” Blair said of Hunt and Milford.
“I have no idea what they do there, but they have been going there for weeks now.
“They say practice makes perfect so hopefully it will work for us on Friday night.”
Injured recruit Benji Marshall was yesterday named in Brisbane’s 21-man squad, but remains an outside hope of facing the Cowboys.
While Hunt and Milford will pull the attacking strings for Brisbane, Blair shapes as the Broncos’ key defensive weapon against the Cowboys.
Brisbane’s pre-eminent prop is renowned for his kick pressure and while he won’t be specifically targeting Johnathan Thurston, he vowed to harass North Queensland’s kickers.
“I don’t target him (Thurston), but my job is to put kick pressure on,” he said.
“If that’s my job I try and execute it ... I did it last week, I will do it again and I will do it all year if I can.
“You have to win the battle in the middle (of the field). First and foremost with JT (Thurston), you have to stop their momentum going forward and minimise the time he has with the ball. If they start getting a roll on, there’s no way you can stop him.”
PETER BADEL, @badel_cmail, The Courier-Mail
BRONCOS players have taken the unprecedented step of staging closed kicking sessions at Suncorp Stadium to give Brisbane an edge at the home of Queensland rugby league.
A select group of Brisbane stars, led by Ben Hunt and Anthony Milford, have begun doing extras at Suncorp in the lead-up to Friday night’s derby blockbuster against the Cowboys.
Hunt and Milford initially joined the entire Broncos squad yesterday morning at Red Hill, the scene of Brisbane’s daily training sessions for the past 29 years.
But Brisbane’s star halves later broke from the group and were ferried to Suncorp, where they worked on their tactical kicking as they prepare for the Queensland derby.
Hunt and Milford were joined by hooker Andrew McCullough and wingers Jordan Kahu and Corey Oates.
They were put through their paces by former Brisbane Lions AFL defender Daniel Merrett, who has been employed by the Broncos this season as a kicking-and-catching consultant.
The Suncorp sessions are expected to continue throughout the year, with the group having worked on their catching and kicking at the venue for the past month.
Hunt attracted fresh criticism over his kick options in last week’s season-opening defeat of the Sharks and is working overtime to fine-tune the weakest part of his game.
Broncos prop Adam Blair hopes the additional sessions will pay dividends as Brisbane seek revenge for last year’s crushing finals loss to the Cowboys.
“The boys have gone off to Suncorp, they have been doing it weekly,” Blair said of Hunt and Milford.
“I have no idea what they do there, but they have been going there for weeks now.
“They say practice makes perfect so hopefully it will work for us on Friday night.”
Injured recruit Benji Marshall was yesterday named in Brisbane’s 21-man squad, but remains an outside hope of facing the Cowboys.
While Hunt and Milford will pull the attacking strings for Brisbane, Blair shapes as the Broncos’ key defensive weapon against the Cowboys.
Brisbane’s pre-eminent prop is renowned for his kick pressure and while he won’t be specifically targeting Johnathan Thurston, he vowed to harass North Queensland’s kickers.
“I don’t target him (Thurston), but my job is to put kick pressure on,” he said.
“If that’s my job I try and execute it ... I did it last week, I will do it again and I will do it all year if I can.
“You have to win the battle in the middle (of the field). First and foremost with JT (Thurston), you have to stop their momentum going forward and minimise the time he has with the ball. If they start getting a roll on, there’s no way you can stop him.”
