PRE-GAME Round 25 - Storm vs Broncos

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Man I can't believe Joey Leilua got a tooth knocked out, what does that mean for the Raiders premiership aspirations?
 
Joe has shown a lot more than Arrow at least. Can't wait for Nikorima to be back.
 
I'm paraphrasing here but about a month ago, didn't he say he'd rather be playing for Souths (Magpies) than the Broncos at that stage?

This would serve the theory I had well. Offa had begun to get a decent amount of games under his belt, then he sort of just.....drifted away this year. My theory is he got a decent sized taste of first grade and just couldn't hack it the way he thought he could.
 
Joe has shown a lot more than Arrow at least. Can't wait for Nikorima to be back.

I like what I've seen from Arrow so far... Offa's got heaps of potential but hasn't produced this season. Once Arrow builds in confidence he'll be a gun
 
Arrows a good player but im just not sure if hes great. You could say the same about Joffa that he still needs to build in confidence. Great players are born with it. Yeah it can flicker from time to time but a great player just has it. Joffa and Arrow are the same age and i think they have pretty much been similar this year in what they have produced.
 
Arrows a good player but im just not sure if hes great. You could say the same about Joffa that he still needs to build in confidence. Great players are born with it. Yeah it can flicker from time to time but a great player just has it. Joffa and Arrow are the same age and i think they have pretty much been similar this year in what they have produced.

Arrow's not going to be flash. He's going to be a workhorse. We won't see his worth until he's playing big minutes, but IMO the time is right to ease him in to first grade.
 
Not all players are early bloomers, some steadily come on, others explode later than expected.

In recent times, the ones who have bloomed later would arguably include Parker, Moa, Lillyman, Tagataese, Granville and Griffin. These are just off the top of my head.

The key point is that it often takes a little longer for forwards. That said, I don't think Arrow has been disappointing at all, quite the opposite. Joffa has gone backwards but he is so young that he has plenty of time on his side.
 
Honestly the only was I can see us winning this one is for Parker to get kicked in the head every 15 minues. It is going to take that sort of attitude in defence to stop the Storm.
We have the players to do it, but unfortunately they need some sort of indignation or outrage to show what they are capable of. If we go back to our lazy arms only tackling, Melbourne will put 30+ on us before they get bored and start to take it easy.
 
Storm are a beatable side these days.

They will play zero mistake, predictably perfect football, controlled by Smith. Whereas before they had Slater just sniffing out tries all day behind Smith, Munster just doesn't have that same innate ability.

Our victory against them last year in Melbourne, they lost the ability to just create points at will. Brisbane just weathered the Storm.

If you can match their discipline, but know when to throw in some flair, you can beat them.

Our last meeting here in Brisbane, we were undisciplined rabble and paid the price.

I'm guessing a Cooper Cronk field goal will split us.

Would not be unhappy with that result.
 
Storm are a beatable side these days.

They will play zero mistake, predictably perfect football, controlled by Smith. Whereas before they had Slater just sniffing out tries all day behind Smith, Munster just doesn't have that same innate ability.

Our victory against them last year in Melbourne, they lost the ability to just create points at will. Brisbane just weathered the Storm.

If you can match their discipline, but know when to throw in some flair, you can beat them.

Our last meeting here in Brisbane, we were undisciplined rabble and paid the price.

I'm guessing a Cooper Cronk field goal will split us.

Would not be unhappy with that result.

Please no, another last minute field goal loss might just break our spirit.
 
Our defence in the last 5 minutes of last weeks game was impressive. Granted they were fired up but to me it shows that the team is where they need to be in terms of attitude and fitness. They have been building to a solid 80 minute performance which is what it's going to take this week. The Storm are going to wrestle and try and slow any momentum all night but if we keep our foot on the gas and defend hard and can hang with them we do have a couple of players who can bust their defence wide open. I'd love to put plenty of pressure on Cronk too, his pin point kicks might start to wave a little if he gets belted a few times... Adam Blair, do your thing
 
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Concern over Parker at training, rolling his ankle apparently but still expected to play.
 
Concern over Parker at training, rolling his ankle apparently but still expected to play.

Be all sweet.

Rest it, put it on ice, maybe an injection, he'll be all good.

On the plus side, he won't be goal kicking.
 
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Chris Garry reporting Bennett stating both Parker and Wallace will be fine for the game.
 
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Parker is a machine, he's never out, even if his foot was the wrong way round, he'd be all good.
 
Broncos not haunted by Storm thrashing

Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett says the Broncos' record-breaking 48-6 loss to Melbourne in Round 17 means nothing heading into Friday night's rematch at AAMI Park.

That was a night to forget for Brisbane, with Bennett's men suffering their worst-ever loss at Suncorp Stadium as the Storm piled on eight tries to the Broncos' one.

A big contributor to that loss was Melbourne halfback Cooper Cronk, with the Australian international putting on a masterclass performance that included five try assists.

Three of those came from kicks to winger Suliasi Vunivalu who had a virtually unopposed night in the air because of an early injury to his direct opponent Corey Oates.

Brisbane lost Oates to concussion in the 19th minute and it meant utility Kodi Nikorima had to shift to the wing to cover for the 21-year-old.

Nikorima is just 174cm tall – a number that seems even smaller when stacked up against the 192cm Vunivalu.

It's for that reason that Bennett doesn't think much of the Storm's record win, instead putting the result down to Oates's injury and the handy work of Cronk and Melbourne captain Cameron Smith.

"I haven't thought much about the last time we played. It was a pretty unique game," Bennett said.

"I've been coaching a long time and I've never had a situation like the one we found ourselves in.

"They exploited it as well as any team I've ever seen exploit an injury.

"It was a pretty big dilemma so I don’t think either side can take much out of that much.

"Cronk and Smith are very smart. It would be a luxury to have those guys in your side.

"They exploited a situation we had no control over. It wasn't our fault but it just shows that you can't show any weaknesses against a side like Melbourne."

Brisbane will be hoping to have 17 healthy troops for the full 80 minutes as they try and prevent the Storm from sealing the minor premiership.

A win for the Broncos will keep their top four hopes alive and Bennett has called for his side to show patience come Friday night's vitally important clash, believing that Brisbane will have no chance of getting the two points if they become impatient and lose focus of what they are trying to achieve.

"We need to be patient," he said.

"Impatience kills any chance you have of winning. It plays into their hands.

"If we can be patient Friday night then we'll have a chance.

"Everything will be hard earned and we know that. Our mindset is firmly set on being patient."

Patience is something Brisbane captain Corey Parker has taught himself over his 16 years in the NRL, and he will be sure to be leading from the front as he plays possibly his last game in Melbourne.

Parker's impending retirement from the game is sure to be a motivating factor for the Broncos, but an injury scare at training on Thursday had many thinking they might have been without him for Friday's match.

The 34-year-old rolled his ankle and limped off the field on Thursday, but he returned moments later to the relief of the small crowd gathered to watch Brisbane train.

Bennett has given Parker the all clear to take the field on Friday night, with the Broncos set to be unchanged once again.

"Corey will be okay to play. He tweaked his ankle a little bit, but everybody says that he should be right to go," Bennett said.

"Everybody is fit so the team will be unchanged. An unchanged team is very important because it gets the side used to playing with each other and that gives them confidence in one another."

Broncos not haunted by Storm thrashing - NRL.com
 
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