Round 7 - Broncos vs Raiders - Post Match Discussion

[mrslong]

Apart from everything already mentioned, how awesome was it seeing Hodgo stand up that whiney skirt Croker time after time! Loved it!

While I thought Hunt & Norman were epic I reckon Hoffy's runs from the back really inspired the team & got us going. Especially since he was clearly hurting. Had a magnificent game.

 

[rnabokov]

I want to give a rap to McCullough - he has been playing very well the last couple of weeks.

His defence has always been top notch but his attack and service from dummy half has improved greatly.

I am really liking his long kicking game from dummy half (eg the 40/20 he got last week or the week before). His short kicking game has been getting us some decent repeat sets also. The kick for Norman last night was an identical play that Cameron Smith and Slater play.

Looks like he has been studying up on Cameron Smith and it's definitely helping!

Yes to that - and the extra bit of creativity in attack was so welcome to see. We are going to need it against a team like Melbourne. I can't see any reason at all to interchange Macca unless his game falls apart. I honestly believe that in the matches to date, the momentum stopped when he was benched and the other sides took advantage of that.

And I will re-start the argument again now by saying I still think the team looks sharper with Gillett in the run-on side. The team looks more mobile in attack and defence in the crucial first 20 minutes as the games against the Dragons and Tigers showed. Last night, the first 15-20 minutes were ordinary.

His impact off the bench last night was obvious, yes - 2 superb plays including the offload of the season, and I am arguing that he would have done that if he was on the field from the start. In fact, if he needs to be used more and more in set plays. On top of that, he is always looking to support the ball carrier, and
cover in defence. No one else does that like Gillett, so far at least.

Also, the more I look at Parker's play - which is excellent, the more I think of prop forward, not back rower.

I am also suggesting that despite the great metres Thaiday makes, where is the support? Am I missing something or are most of Thaiday's runs one out?

 

[subsbligh]

Fantastic game last night to watch as a Broncos fan.

Raiders body language at about the 45th minute was "f*ck this". Why did they take Campese in at 45%? God it shows the derth in roster depth across the NRL.

Norman had his best game in a Broncos jersey without a doubt. He's improved immensley with tenure at 5/8.

Can't wait for a big game test for this team, to see how Norman can hold up under pressure.

Broncos v Storm - Round 12 after the bye, down at AAMI. Big test.

 

[Bucking Beads]

I thought young Lui did alright when he came on. Much prefer to see him on the bench ahead of Anderson at this stage. Baptiste looked well below the pace but we know he is better so need to worry too much IMO.

 

[Mister Wright]

What is all this fuss about Baptise? He made McCullough look like Cameron Smith x2. Really poor game from him. Good to see Griffin not keep him on too long and get McCullough back out there.

Great stuff from Norman and Hunt. :)

 

[Bucking Beads]

What is all this fuss about Baptise? He made McCullough look like Cameron Smith x2. Really poor game from him. Good to see Griffin not keep him on too long and get McCullough back out there.

Great stuff from Norman and Hunt. :)

What do you mean what is all the fuss?? Baptiste was pretty good out of dummy half last year when he got his shot. He was also expcetional at under 20's level in the 9 and has been playing very well in QLD cup this year.

 

[Alec]

Also, the more I look at Parker's play - which is excellent, the more I think of prop forward, not back rower.

That's how some locks play these days though. Gallen for Sharks, Costigan for Knights, Heighnton/Blair for Tiggers etc.

 

[The Brizz]

McGuire and Gillett is without doubt the best 1-2 punch on any bench in the NRL I just hope Hook leaves them there so they can maintain the rage that Civo, Sammy and Hannant set in the opening stages. Our bench at full strength is so full of impact/skill/quality.

14. Hunt
15. McGuire
16. Gillett
17. Hala/Lui

I love the stamina of our 3 core props and that we have a couple of young tyros in Hala and Lui who can play the 20 minute cameo late in a game to really lift our tempo late. That bench is easily the best in the competition.

 

[Coxy]

What do you mean what is all the fuss?? Baptiste was pretty good out of dummy half last year when he got his shot. He was also expcetional at under 20's level in the 9 and has been playing very well in QLD cup this year.

Agreed. While the m1c jizzing over Baptiste is pretty nauseating, he's a very good young player who just tried too hard last night. He'll learn from it and will be part of the squad at some stage. At whose expense, don't know. At this point he's behind Wallace, Norman, Hunt and McCullough in the pecking order, and rightly so.

 

[Big Pete]

Last night's performance didn't really help things but I'd still rather Hunt spent some time in Q Cup polishing his halfback skills while giving Baptiste time to adjust to the demands of NRL football.

Won't happen, but I believe it's the best thing for our squad moving forward.

 

[Broncoman]

That was in easy but entertaining win. Canberra started well but I thought mistakes from our back 3 made Campo's kicks look good. After that we just steamrolled them all over the park. The Raiders forwards have nothing other that TLL. Easily our best performance of the year. To the media and fans of rival clubs who said we would struggle without Darren Lockyer STICK THAT UP YA.

GO THE MIGHTY BRONCOS

 

[Coxy]

Frankly I thought Campese's kicking game was superb. We had got on top before he got injured, but they had no chance of coming back without him. Berrigan and McCrone's kicking games were very ineffective and whoever their hookers were (shows how much I pay attention) offered no kicking variation.

 

[schmix]

I love how much confidence I have in this team to turn up and put in the effort every week. Even after 15 minutes when the commentators were (rightly) saying how flat the Broncos looked, I was thinking to myself "they'll pick up".

Yes, they have periods of downtime in each game (though they seem to be getting shorter each week) but I am content in the fact that they will do what it takes. Obviously coming up against a team like Melbourne is a whole other ballgame and we'll see what happens in round 12, but I couldn't ask for more at the moment.

 

[jarro65]

Another good win to the lads ..... rolling along rather nicely now.

I'm impressed with the level of patience the side shows too, not rushing into panicked decisions.

 

[schmix]

Another good win to the lads ..... rolling along rather nicely now.

I'm impressed with the level of patience the side shows too, not rushing into panicked decisions.

Yep, forgot to mention this. I think huge credit has to go to Hook and Sam (and maybe Wallace? Parker?) for having this team of youngsters play with confidence and patience that is well above their years. I thought we would struggle with this aspect after Locky's departure but our leadership group are doing a top notch job.

 

[ethos]

I love how much confidence I have in this team to turn up and put in the effort every week. Even after 15 minutes when the commentators were (rightly) saying how flat the Broncos looked, I was thinking to myself "they'll pick up".

Yes, they have periods of downtime in each game (though they seem to be getting shorter each week) but I am content in the fact that they will do what it takes. Obviously coming up against a team like Melbourne is a whole other ballgame and we'll see what happens in round 12, but I couldn't ask for more at the moment.

Agree totally. We've got a resilient footy team and a really good group of players, mentally they all seem to be in a great place. Even in the match against Souths where we got battered from pillar to post by both the opposition and the referee I always thought we'd finish strongly and come back to win.

And yeah, I reckon we can take every team in the competition bar Melbourne (and maybe to a lesser extent Manly) at the moment.

 

[Anonymous person]

McGuire and Gillett is without doubt the best 1-2 punch on any bench in the NRL I just hope Hook leaves them there so they can maintain the rage that Civo, Sammy and Hannant set in the opening stages. Our bench at full strength is so full of impact/skill/quality.

while i agree theyre probably the 2 best players that are on the bench in the league, i cant agree with leaving McGuire there. gillett yes, mcguire no.

He's our best prop IMO. he tackles anything that comes his way, and most importantly he wraps the ball up. hes always the one not with his hand on the ball, but grabbing the arm thats carrying the ball and keeping it wrapped up. it stops the offloads, and it kills any momentum they might have had.

He needs to be on for 80 (or at least 60, the 40 we have him playing now is just such a waste) and then just have Hannant and Civo taking the other prop spot for 40 minutes each (or 50/30) this frees up a spot on our bench as we dont need to carry a 4th prop. if one of the 3 gets injured, thaiday moves to prop and we get one of the 56 million other second-row-type players in our team to take his spot - glenn, teo, gillett, parker, etc.

 

[Alec]

I don't want McGuire playing 80, we need to prevent any chance of burnout. Our rotation at the moment is pretty sweet, and all the players should still be fairly fresh come finals time.