The Golden Opportunity

[I bleed Maroon]

http://www.broncos.com.au/news/2015/07/03/broncos_create_golde.html

BRISBANE fans have good reason to be optimistic with the Broncos literally in the best position in the club’s history to win a premiership.
This week’s bye means Brisbane will be on 28 competition points after 17 rounds.
Not even the ‘92 and ‘93 premiership teams or even the Brisbane’s sides during their most dominant period of 1997 through to 2000 had racked up this many points this early.
No Broncos side has ever notched this many competition points at this stage of the season, a fact Brisbane’s coaching staff made known to players following their victory over Newcastle.
Their current record of 12 wins with three losses is only equalled by one other Brisbane team, the 2005 side, since the club’s inception in 1988.
Their 28 points could be enough to qualify them for the finals right now and they are almost guaranteed a top-four finish which will give them two home finals in front of crowds near 50,000.
The Broncos have not hosted a final since 2011, when Darren Lockyer’s cheekbone was fractured in a victory over St George Illawarra.
Since then they have finished eighth, 12th and eighth, losing two finals in Townsville.
Expectations are now among the many factors coach Wayne Bennett must manage for what has so far been an over-achieving side.
Following Brisbane’s 36-6 Round 1 loss to South Sydney, Bennett cautioned that this side may not be premiership material until 2017.
It is premiership material now.
The only major issue is the season-ending achilles injury to prop Josh McGuire.
It means bench prop Jarrod Wallace could be called upon to start regularly while 20-year-old forward Joe Ofahengaue will see more game time.
McGuire’s injury came just days after Brisbane granted prop Mitch Garbutt a release to head to Super League.
Brisbane play the Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium in their next game, on July 11, following Wednesday's Origin III., followed by a Sunday home game against the Tigers.

Well there you go folks. We're in the best position we've ever been in come Round 17.

 

[Super Freak]

Yeah, but IIRC they didn't have bye rounds then.

Still a good achievement though and it's great to be in this position.

 

[CaptainHook]

I get the impression WB is gearing up for a title this year. Forget this talk of a trophy in 3 years time. The time is now. We've proven we can beat the Cowboys, Roosters etc. I think we'll beat the Dragons in a second encounter and I think the Storm will struggle without Slater. Crucially, we've proven for the first time in years we can win tough.

Losing McGuire is a massive hurdle. But there is still time to find a suitable replacement.

The other thing I worry about is the "it's time" factor the Cowboys are riding on. Much like Souths last year, it's making the premiership look like a foregone conclusion. Traditionally, we seem to travel better than they do so if we clash with them in Sydney it might be a bit more neutral.

 

[Harry Sack]

If it somehow managed to be a Cows V Broncos GF I'd be the happiest man in the world tbh. I'd want to win for sure, but I'd be nowhere near as upset if we lost to the Cows. I'll also be going if this happens. Made a pact at the start of the year with a Cows supporter at work, that if they both made it, we'd go.

 

[Huge]

My two best mates each support a different team, one the Sharks,the other the Cows. I'd prefer a Broncos Sharks gf and be happy either way with the result but if we absolutely had to play the Cows I'd want us to smash them into little pieces and would only take very very small consolation that the Cows and JT finally got their reward if they should fluke a win over our obviously much greater team !

 

[austin71]

South Sydney were crap tonight. I see the Roosters and the Cowboys standing in the way of our 7th premiership.. Am i wrong...

 

[rnabokov]

South Sydney were crap tonight. I see the Roosters and the Cowboys standing in the way of our 7th premiership.. Am i wrong...

No. Just add the Dogs - who are my tip for the other GF berth. However I consider the Dragons also as a serious threat.

 

[Stix]

After watching the chooks on the weekend very nearly get done by the Titans I'm not so sure about any team being a stand out, I think the Broncos a real chance provided they stick to what's been working for them so far this season. A bit more line speed would be a nice addition to going into the finals

 

[rnabokov]

After watching the chooks on the weekend very nearly get done by the Titans I'm not so sure about any team being a stand out, I think the Broncos a real chance provided they stick to what's been working for them so far this season. A bit more line speed would be a nice addition to going into the finals

My thoughts exactly but it seems to run counter to Kearney Koaching - see the Broncos Defence thread.

Personally, I think it's a recipe for disaster to wait for big fast men to get up a full head of steam before you tackle them - especially players like James Graham and Kasiano and other forwards who offload and pass before the line, although someone posted Bennett will pick the appropriate strategy for the relevant attack we face.

The upcoming game against the Dogs will seriously establish our defensive credentials as I regard the Dogs as having the best attacking pack in the comp bar none - including us.

As for the Chooks - they are just sooo predictable

 

[pennywisealfie]

I'm hoping to see a week where we rest all of our guys and just play u20s or something. I've lived through way many seasons where we run out of steam at the end. I'm sure Wayne knows what he's doing though.

 

[vertigo]

Give them all the rest they need, I'm glad our win streak has been broken up by byes - I think it's more mentally draining to do what the Cowboys did and then recapture it once you've lost a couple.

I would say the next month can set us up for a top two finish with back to back home games against the Tigers and Titans then Manly away, with the last five rounds determining whether or not we go for a run at the minor premiership.

 

[heartly87]

I would be happy for us to give our origin boys a rest. Sit them out at least for the dogs and another game for any with niggling injuries. We need to be firing heading into the back end of the year

 

[subsbligh]

I think I am in for a stressful September.

In a bunch of very inconsistent teams this year, we have managed to keep winning and we've had some cracking victories to savour.

There's been some "luck", which I'd like to put down to the Wayne Bennett extra 5%.

Storm, Penrith or Roosters games all could have gone the other way. Then again, the other games have all been quite comprehensive victories IMO.

 

[Morkel]

I think I am in for a stressful September.

In a bunch of very inconsistent teams this year, we have managed to keep winning and we've had some cracking victories to savour.

There's been some "luck", which I'd like to put down to the Wayne Bennett extra 5%.

Storm, Penrith or Roosters games all could have gone the other way. Then again, the other games have all been quite comprehensive victories IMO.

Dragons & Cowboys could well have gone the other way too. Just saying.

 

[Waynesaurus]

Personally my biggest fear is meeting the Cowboys in the Grand Final.

I used to fear the Storm by now its the Cows, their style of play troubles us and they just seem to have the wood on us in general.

Trying to control Thurston in a GF is a scary thought, especially with our stand back and concede meters approach in defense this year.

You also know JT would be up for the game and hugely desperate to get that first premiership for the Cowboys.

 

[CaptainHook]

Personally my biggest fear is meeting the Cowboys in the Grand Final.

I used to fear the Storm by now its the Cows, their style of play troubles us and they just seem to have the wood on us in general.

Trying to control Thurston in a GF is a scary thought, especially with our stand back and concede meters approach in defense this year.

You also know JT would be up for the game and hugely desperate to get that first premiership for the Cowboys.

Agreed 100%. The Cowboys are the team to beat. If they make it to the big one they're going to win.