PRE-GAME Round 9 - Sharks vs Broncos

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I'm of the belief that we're as good or better than any team in the competition this year but I think we're due a loss. I still think we'll win, but I won't be shocked to lose either.
 
Fk this. We will win. We are the better team by far. If this game was at Suncorp it would be a no Brainer.. We are a professional team and have the best coach in the business. I'm backing my team!
 
Any team that has Milford in it is always a chance. Especially with the form he is in.
 
The lynchpin to this game is Travis Waddell. Not the most confidence boosting statement I realize but he doesn't have to shine in attack. As long as he defends well and hard, We can get into the grind with the Sharks, tire their forwards then unleash Milf and Nikorima. Whatever Hunt can do would be just salad dressing.

McGuire is going to be pumped after earning a Roos jersey so he will be up for this, as will Wallace who will be keen to build on his performance from last week, so we will hardly be dominated up front. It won't be the most entertaining of victories, hell I'm predicting a bit of a slog of a game, but considering our depletions, a win is a win and I will take the 2 points and run if we manage to win.
 
I bleed Maroon said:
The lynchpin to this game is Travis Waddell. Not the most confidence boosting statement I realize but he doesn't have to shine in attack. As long as he defends well and hard, We can get into the grind with the Sharks, tire their forwards then unleash Milf and Nikorima. Whatever Hunt can do would be just salad dressing.

McGuire is going to be pumped after earning a Roos jersey so he will be up for this, as will Wallace who will be keen to build on his performance from last week, so we will hardly be dominated up front. It won't be the most entertaining of victories, hell I'm predicting a bit of a slog of a game, but considering our depletions, a win is a win and I will take the 2 points and run if we manage to win.
Click to expand...

The bolded is all we need. Good call.
 
If Wallace and Joe O can maintain last week's standard I think we'll be their equal up front. Provided we're not exposed through the middle, our class from 1 through 7 will see us home.
 
The only thing which really worries me about this game is the Shark's offloading - their offloads are almost double ours. Our defence really needs to be spot on.

At the same time, running at Maloney is a good idea - he's 2nd in the comp for missed tackles.
 
Cut from Canberra at the end of 2012 and cutting steel in a Brisbane factory months later, Travis Waddell was a man looking for an opportunity.

Advised by others to steer clear, then Knights coach Wayne Bennett invited him into his home in January 2013 and soon signed him to a contract with Newcastle.

When Bennett left at the end of the 2014 season and Waddell was no longer wanted in Newcastle, he took him to Brisbane and after 18 months of toil on the training paddock he gets his first NRL start with the Broncos this Sunday.

A member of Brisbane's team that contested the World Club Series in England in February, the hamstring injury to durable No.9 Andrew McCullough last weekend has opened the way for 26-year-old Waddell to add to his tally of 73 NRL games.

Prior to McCullough's injury it was entirely feasible that Waddell could go two years at the Broncos without ever running on in an NRL fixture but he takes the full confidence of his coach and teammates into his club debut against the Sharks this weekend.

"I don't know what I saw in him," Bennett told NRL.com.

"A couple of guys rang me up about him from memory and I thought I'd give him a chance and see how he goes from there.

"There were plenty of reasons why I shouldn't have taken him that people were telling me as well but we gave him the opportunity and he hasn't let me down.

"Travis to me is what the game is all about. He's just an average guy doing his best every week and trying his hardest for you. That's Trav.

"He has to work hard at everything he does, he's prepared to do that and he does his best when he gets out there on the footy field. That's what I like about him.

"He's as honest as the day is long and I know what I'll get out of him on Sunday. He'll be doing his absolute best for us.
"I like that."

Broncos captain Corey Parker has trained alongside the four-time Indigenous All Stars representative for the past two seasons and is pleased that he will get to lead him out onto the field on Sunday.

"Throughout the season you're going to get people that can come in and fill a void while there are some players out," Parker said.

"Trav has played a lot of first grade so he knows how to get the job done. He's been playing some great footy for Souths [Logan] and he gets an opportunity and looking forward to getting out there with him.

"If you've watched him train he's certainly professional in the way he goes about his business. He played in England with us so everyone has played alongside Trav at some stage and he'll do a job for us."

Although he has been unseen in the top grade since returning to Brisbane, Bennett assured Broncos fans that the character he first saw more than three years ago will be there for all to see come Sunday.

"They'll know that already. They'll know that I wouldn't put him in the team if I thought he'd let the team down," Bennett said.

"There'll be no one out there who is a Broncos fan second guessing Travis Waddell.

"He's done all the things you've got to do here and he's got a reward for it."

Bennett's belief in patient Waddell - NRL.com
 
Travis was considered by many to be one of the worst signings in Broncos history. Will that reputation stick on Sunday?

He has six games to make his mark.
 
I would defer to my more learned colleagues, But TW has always impressed me with his work rate, in the few games I've seen of him.
 
Big Pete said:
Travis was considered by many to be one of the worst signings in Broncos history. Will that reputation stick on Sunday?

He has six games to make his mark.
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Only time will tell. One thing is for sure though it won't matter how well he plays, most won't change their opinion.

I'm backing him to do the job.
 
Being part of what was probably the majority, that opinion was formed in the 2015 pre-season when we all thought Wayne would go for a Dragons-esque defend-at-all-costs way of playing and do that by playing the guys he brought with him. We assumed he'd be a constant on the bench and be mediocre. Obviously that was before Parcell + Kodi were given the spot ahead of him.

i haven't seen much of Waddell, probably the only good thing was a 1-on-1 strip of Cam Smith 10 out and he scored. But all he needs to do is be error-free, tackle his backside off and give decent service for however long he's on the field. Then we can go from there
 
Big Pete said:
Travis was considered by many to be one of the worst signings in Broncos history. Will that reputation stick on Sunday?

He has six games to make his mark.
Click to expand...

That gives me more confidence that he's going to do a good job for us, considering the last 2 players who were dubbed "The worst signings in history" by certain people were Blair & Boyd, who are arguably our 2 most reliable players right now.
 
I liked him at Canberra. Solid but not spectacular. There won't be many darts out of dummy half, but he'll make tackles and give good service.
 
He'll get the job done.

He doesn't have to be a superstar.
 
"Although he has been unseen in the top grade since returning to Brisbane, Bennett assured Broncos fans that the character he first saw more than three years ago will be there for all to see come Sunday.

"They'll know that already. They'll know that I wouldn't put him in the team if I thought he'd let the team down," Bennett said.

"There'll be no one out there who is a Broncos fan second guessing Travis Waddell.

"He's done all the things you've got to do here and he's got a reward for it."

**** I love Wayne. This is just amazing. He is one hell of a man.


This game is a great test for us. It will either show us we're on the pace, or give us a wake-up call which won't go astray either. We've had some easier games recently, this is against a team we're likely to meet in the finals and are probably the only other team bar the Cows (and bar injuries obviously) who have the potential to take out the silverware this year. Big game in the scheme of things IMO, looking forward to seeing where we're at mentally.
 
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