PRE-GAME Round 20 - Broncos vs Panthers

[1910]

[TWEET]755919735561125889[/TWEET]

Is Chris Garry in on the smokescreen too?

His new job makes him way too sophisticated for that kind of silliness.

 

[winslow_wong]

Cowboys doing us a favour by flogging the dogs. If we beat penriff convincingly then it's top 4 baby.

 

[ivanhungryjak]

Cowboys doing us a favour by flogging the dogs. If we beat penriff convincingly then it's top 4 baby.

Warriors have to beat the Faders as well.

 

[Alec]

ese'ese is better than offa and arrow hands down. as far as being older he is a front rower and i think from memory is only 22 this year?
pangai has plenty of upside as does su'a, if you want plodders like offa and arrow who very rarely break or even bend the line then offa and arrow are the pair. if we give ese'ese time (remembering front rowers dont really mature til mid to late 20's) i think he can be an 8 to 10yr option in the front for us. his ball skills are light years ahead of offa and arrow.

Admittedly I've only seen him play for the Broncos, but he hasn't impressed me yet. If he has more going for him that what he's been allowed to show, then it should be interesting.

 

[Super Freak]

Cowboys doing us a favour by flogging the dogs. If we beat penriff convincingly then it's top 4 baby.

We won't have to beat them convincingly.

Just a 1 point win will do.

 

[talanoa]

Admittedly I've only seen him play for the Broncos, but he hasn't impressed me yet. If he has more going for him that what he's been allowed to show, then it should be interesting.

just give him a bit of time mate, he will be good. once he gets 50 to 60 nrl games under his belt thats when we will start to see the quality shine through.

 

[1910]

Completely agree. Ese'ese has a huge upside to him. His stints in the NRL this year have been all about keeping it simple. Trust me, we haven't even scratched the surface of his potential yet.

Souths are a pretty basic football side, I'd love to see him encouraged to use his skills more. They come out some weeks. He reminds me of a young Petero nice footwork and offload there.

 

[Smokin' Joe]

Souths are a pretty basic football side, I'd love to see him encouraged to use his skills more. They come out some weeks. He reminds me of a young Petero nice footwork and offload there.

Absolutely. I think he has a really big future.
Not sure if he has signed for 2017 though....

 

[kat00]

I expected NQ to hammer the dogs last night, I suspected the dogs were a bit like the Warriors, Origin bullies.
Ive been saying for ages that the Broncs recent form was a direct result of Origin, injuries and suspension, sure every side has to deal with that but the Broncs this year have copped it in the neck. We will win impressively tonight and you watch us tighten in the betting market. We are not out of it this year.......by any stretch.

 

[austin71]

I'd love us to win tonight and make a statement!

 

[Super Freak]

Watch the Broncos take the 2 any chance they get.

If they are building pressure and take the 2 on the first penalty they get, I'm going to fucking crack.. And they will be close enough to hear me.

 

[bb_gun]

Watch the Broncos take the 2 any chance they get.

If they are building pressure and take the 2 on the first penalty they get, I'm going to fucking crack.. And they will be close enough to hear me.

Not taking the 2 was one of the reasons we lost against them in round 3. That and letting them offload at will.

 

[Super Freak]

Not taking the 2 was one of the reasons we lost against them in round 3. That and letting them offload at will.

We aren't going to make the top 4 by playing it safe.

I want a repeat of the 2009 game.

I want to see the players, the fans and Hook crying. I want the Broncos to crush them.

They are weaker now.

 

[Super Freak]

This is what I want to see.

A fucking annihilation.

 

[Sirlee oldman]

Huge game tonight. A win against Penrith will do a lot to rebuild confidence in the squad and momentum towards the finals but I just hope that the game isn't ruined by incompetent refereeing. We have really copped some poor decisions this year. The Storm game in particular was excruciating to watch. As a fan I understand that sometimes the team won't play as well as they can and that's when they need support the most but watching them underperform and get bent over by the referees does my head in.

 

[Stix]

I'm expecting a basic performance tonight with emphasis on a strong defensive effort. I would love to see some flash plays and really turn it n but I can't see it. Bennett will want us to gradually build now, starting with their defence. He's a crafty old bugger, and as much as I've been panicking lately, somehow I think he's calm as a cucumber and we are in his eyes in a prime position. I don't think we've played very well yet this season even when we've won( I havn't seen improvement on last season) but I think over the next few weeks that is going to change...

 

[Rally Towel]

We don't have to be fancy to rack up a big win here.

Emphasis on good completion rate and suffocating defence, grind them down then expose them on the edges once they tire.

If we can repeat our effort against Souths but execute a little better. Cut out the forward passes, and go outside in for Roberts and/or Boyd, we should rack up the points.

 

[Big Pete]

Can we talk about that Round 3 loss for a moment?

Not only was it terrible to see the Broncos squander a 22-6 lead, to see them go down against a Penrith side missing Moylan & Merrin was mind boggling.

Snap back to tonight's game and on the face of everything, we're in for a close game.

Unlike the Panthers of 2009, the Panthers have not been on the receiving end of any blow-outs. Their biggest loss of the season came against Melbourne in Melbourne, in a game they lost 24-6. As far as 18 point losses are concerned, it was far from the worst result and their ability to keep opposition teams to 30 points or less has been key to their position on the ladder. A win tonight will see them in the Top 8 and gunning for the Broncos position on the ladder, a thought that wouldn't have been imaginable at the start of the year.

If it wasn't for the Panthers erratic style of play and their propensity to concede soft tries or concede easy turn-overs I would feel compelled to tip them. They certainly have the talent and the will to cause the upset, but Brisbane in Brisbane is a tough prospect and I believe the tip comes down to intangible factors. Brisbane will be upset after their worst ever loss at Suncorp to Melbourne, Penrith have not won back-to-back games all season and the Panthers haven't won at Suncorp since 2010 (during the Origin period no less, going back further it was a Golden Point game in 07 when the Broncos were in a slump).

Definitely not expecting a 58-24 result, this Panthers side is a lot better than the one back then and the conditions won't allow it. I'm expecting a 20-18 type result with Penrith showing flashes of promise but ultimately dying by the sword. The class of Boyd, Oates, Milford etc. will see the Broncos home.