PRE-GAME Round 4 - Broncos vs Raiders

[Huge]

Matt Elliot on nrl.com was speaking about Tautau Moga's defence, Was criticizing it

Elliot wasn't that critical of Moga. He mentions him twice in the video but neither time did he do a lot wrong. In the first instance his only criticism was that he didn't go low enough but the attacking player didn't get through with Moga and Oates combining to stop him. The only other mention was in passing and I saw nothing at all in that, in fact the ball was swung across the line without going anywhere near Moga.

 

[pagey]

I rate Oates the better finisher at the goal line.
On that issue though, anyone else think Moga isn't really working out in the centres. We used to have the most potent left edge in the comp last year but this year it seems if just isn't clicking. Even Opacic did a great job at the back end of the year when Reed retired. The left edge this year has really struggled in attack

New player , New structures ! And it's rd 3 . This place gives me a headache

 

[BroncsFan]

Elliot wasn't that critical of Moga. He mentions him twice in the video but neither time did he do a lot wrong. In the first instance his only criticism was that he didn't go low enough but the attacking player didn't get through with Moga and Oates combining to stop him. The only other mention was in passing and I saw nothing at all in that, in fact the ball was swung across the line without going anywhere near Moga.

I think the second mention was not identifying where the ball was going and coming in to shut it down.

But he wasn't all that critical either time

 

[Mightybroncs2k17]

I think this game it's just important we do the basics right and be diciplined. The raiders don't have the thurston, Cronk and smiths that we've had to deal with the last two rounds and from what I've seen of our first three games we should be able to beat them with a simple game plan. Yes they have a huge pack but to date I would say our pack has stood up to all the challenges presented.

I think we'll play it as one of those games where we just want to get to our kick, put in a good chase and be diciplined and we should get the upper hand. I also think we will see some benefit from a tough opening three rounds this week. While most other teams have had a soft game or at least a few soft periods of games I feel like every minute of every game for us so far have been played at speed and quality meaning the cobwebs should well be blown out and we have well and truly worked into the season. It could have almost put us 1 game ahead of the others in terms of match fitness and practice.

 

[Horseheadsup]

Interesting analyses, that we're thin down the middle. This guys right though, our strategy works.

 

[Wolfie]

I think Moga has been fairly decent, nothing more so far. He has made some bad errors, i think he should have done more to stop the Hess try in the cowboys game, and i think he was fairly poor against the Storm although he didnt really cost us any tries. He was lucky he didnt give away more silly penalties in the storm game tbf.

Must admit, i dont think he has done a great deal in attack. He has had a couple of big carries, but he hasnt been that dangerous in attacking situations. I would go so far as to say last season, Kahu at left center, plus our two injured centers in Reed and Opacic offered more in attack so far than we have seen from Moga.

Its always going to take him some time after his injury to get back his confidence tbh. For a bloke who has come back from 3 knee reconstructions he has done as well as we should expect imo. He is only going to get better hopefully. I think if Opacic can get himself fit for Redcliffe Wayne will put him back in sooner rather than later unless Moga steps up a bit more though. He did pretty well last season both in defence and attack despite playing injured and Wayne obviously rates him.

 

[Mightybroncs2k17]

In regards to moga and his performances just remember we've played team 1,2 and 4 from last year so it was Always going to be tough for him to have a huge impact. The big challenge will be to see if he makes an impact against a team low on confidence and struggling and then holds his form next time we play the big guns.

 

[BroncsFan]

Yeah have to agree with what's been said previously on moga... yes he hasn't set the world on fire in attack but he hasn't had a lot of attacking opportunities. In fact who in our team has so far this year. We've be drawn into grind it out games so far and when we have tried to go left milf seems to have been shut down. Moga is offering us another big body to bring it out of our own end and it is much needed.

I'll be interested to see how we go in the next 3 games against raiders, dogs and roosters. All appear winnable with the toughest being roosters and we need to go 3/3 to get back on track

 

[Rally Towel]

I'm not sold on Moga. He's given us some strong carries but that's about the extent of it. Outside of catching a couple of high balls we may as well have Vidot out there.

Also has shown some poor discipline and lack of commitment (giving up on the play when he fumbled against the Cowboys, could have cost us).

Open to giving him some more time but I haven't seen anything to suggest he's our best option long term.

 

[BroncsFan]

I'm not sold on Moga. He's given us some strong carries but that's about the extent of it. Outside of catching a couple of high balls we may as well have Vidot out there.

Also has shown some poor discipline and lack of commitment (giving up on the play when he fumbled against the Cowboys, could have cost us).

Open to giving him some more time but I haven't seen anything to suggest he's our best option long term.

Just an FYI it was Oates who gave up on the dropped ball not moga.

There's also an issue with putting vidot out there in the fact that we don't have a vidot... we have Oates and he's being assisted by Moga.

FFS so many complaints previously about being unable to get the ball out of our own end... then when we have another big body next to Oates and we complain about him not being able to create offence like Israel falou despite the fact that broncos games thus far have been against the top tier teams in grind it out games.

Couple that with the fact he's in his first opportunity at starting center since he was in his teens.

But yeah **** him off onto the scrap heap and bring in that unknown 18yr old who is hiding away in broncos 20's and will defs be the next GI/Izzy/Lolo hybrid 120kg rampaging centre

 

[broncos4life]

I'm not sold on Moga. He's given us some strong carries but that's about the extent of it. Outside of catching a couple of high balls we may as well have Vidot out there.

You say that like it's a bad thing. A Vidot that is good under the high ball is close to elite.

If Moga is our biggest concern, we don't have too much to be worried about...

 

[Rally Towel]

Not saying he's a liability and I've yet to get my torch or pitchfork.

Just saying I'd like to see a bit more smarts from him while the position is his for the taking.

 

[Super Freak]

Schick Hydro Preview Brisbane Broncos v Canberra Raiders
Suncorp Stadium
Friday, 7.05PM QLD

The Canberra Raiders travel to an unhappy hunting ground on Friday night when they face the Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium in a blockbuster Telstra Premiership clash.

Ricky Stuart's men have lost eight of their past nine matches at the old Lang Park, but they will be full of confidence after a huge 46-6 win against the Wests Tigers last week.

It was the Green Machine's first win of the season, with Canberra joining the Broncos on two competition points.

Brisbane have lost two in a row against two premiership favourites in the North Queensland Cowboys and Melbourne Storm, but with both games going down to the wire they'll still have belief that they can match it with the best.

The Broncos are back to full strength this week after the late withdrawal of Tevita Pangai Junior in Round 3.

Pangai Junior joins the bench in place of Benji Marshall, who drops back to the reserves after making his Brisbane debut last week.

There are no changes to the Canberra 17, with Joseph Tapine among those added to the extended bench.

It's an even match on paper and both sides will be desperate to win with neither wanting to slip to a 1-3 record.
‌
Why the Broncos can win: Brisbane have suffered two heartbreaking losses in a row and this will serve as motivation to finally win a close one. Their one-point loss to the Cowboys in front of their home fans would have stung and they'll be hungry to record their first win at Suncorp Stadium for the year. Their record against the Raiders at Lang Park is superb, having not lost to Canberra at the ground since 2010. The Broncos defence has been on fire in the first three weeks, conceding just 53 points for the season. Wayne Bennett will have his side in top shape for this one, with Brisbane the beneficiaries of an eight-day turnaround that will see them fresh.

Why the Raiders can win: Josh Papalii is in damaging form. The Queensland and Australian representative has terrorised his opposition this year, running for an average of 144m per game and making one line break per match. His performance against Wests Tigers in Round 3 was scary, running for a huge 225m off 18 hit ups. It is arguably the best he has looked in his whole career and if he keeps it up he will provide the Raiders with great field position all night. Blake Austin and Aidan Sezer need this forward momentum to catch Brisbane's defence on the back foot. If Papalii can provide this through hard running up the middle, then the Raiders can attack from anywhere on the field.

Key match-up: Anthony Milford v Blake Austin. Two of the competition's best running halves will square up in an intriguing match-up on Friday night. Milford was quiet in Brisbane's two-point loss to the Storm in Round 3 and he will need to increase his output if the Broncos are to get the two points. On the other hand, Austin has worked his way into the season, putting in a solid performance in Round 3 after a quiet first two weeks. He put on a try assist, a line break assist and scored a try of his own in the Raiders' 40-point win over the Tigers last week. Neither half has discovered their running game in 2017, with Milford averaging 88m per game and Austin just 68m per game. Both will be looking to exploit the tired forwards at the back-end of each half and whoever does that better will put their side in a superior position.
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The history: Played 47; Broncos 27; Raider 19; Drawn 1. The Broncos have won their last three matches against the Raiders, with the average winning margin being just over 14 points. Brisbane's record against Canberra is impressive, with six of the last eight clashes going in the Broncos' favour. Brisbane haven't lost to the Raiders at Suncorp Stadium since 2010 and this cannot be understated. Jarrod Croker is the only current member of Canberra's 21-man squad who played in that match in 2010. The two teams only met once last year, with Darius Boyd scoring a hat-trick of tries in the Broncos' 26-18 win in June. Brisbane led 18-0 at half-time in that match, seeing off a late Raiders comeback to secure victory.

What are the odds: This is the most even betting game of the round according to Sportsbet. Punters were quick to snap up the big odds for Canberra, but there's very little separating the two sides as far as total money bet is concerned. Both have been backed to win 1-12. Brisbane winger Corey Oates is the favourite in the first try-scorer market.

Match officials: Referee: Ashley Klein; Assistant Referee: Adam Gee; Touch Judges: Brett Suttor & Nick Morel; Review Official: Ben Galea; Senior RO: Bernard Sutton.

Televised: Channel 9 – Live coverage from 7.00PM; Fox League – Live coverage from 7.00PM.

How we see it: The Broncos' long turnaround looks to be a huge advantage heading into this one. Canberra's five-day turnaround means they can only train once leading up to this clash and that is not what you want coming up against a side of Brisbane's quality. As well as this, the Broncos' record against the Raiders at Suncorp Stadium is too good to ignore. Brisbane by eight.

https://matchcentre.nrl.com/match/2017/111/20171110430/#preview

 

[Renegade]

I'll be very interested in how Melbourne pull up this week after playing us. The Cowboys were visibly buggered after playing us, yet we put in another strong performance, evidencing our resilience and fitness. If we can put in the same effort this week, I'm starting to believe this year may be our year.

don't do it to yourself lol...

 

[papabear]

If you get us (raiders) frustrated, a relatively easy task this year you will win.


If not, I dont see you guys scoring more then us unless you put in a monster defensive effort and get some love from the refs.

 

[Sproj]

get some love from the refs

Well that's not gonna happen.

 

[jd87]

If you get us (raiders) frustrated, a relatively easy task this year you will win.


If not, I dont see you guys scoring more then us unless you put in a monster defensive effort and get some love from the refs.

we are well over due for some love from the refs

 

[Super Freak]

If you get us (raiders) frustrated, a relatively easy task this year you will win.


If not, I dont see you guys scoring more then us unless you put in a monster defensive effort and get some love from the refs.

Did you happen to watch last week? It took a complete fluke to break our defence.

We'll be fine. Raiders had a big win against a wooden spoon contender but apart from that, they have been average at best.