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- Jan 25, 2014
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Ben Hunt and James Roberts are the men to get Brisbane back on track
DARREN LOCKYER, EXCLUSIVE, The Courier-Mail
JAMES Roberts and Ben Hunt are the two players who need to fire to breathe life back into the Broncos’ season against the Rabbitohs at ANZ Stadium.
There are times at a club when, internally, you know it’s time to flick the switch. A few losses build pressure. The critics come out of the woodwork. The stakes suddenly raise.
It’s too melodramatic to say the Broncos are a club in crisis, but the clash against Souths will be a compelling barometer of the mental state of Wayne Bennett’s squad.
The last time the Broncos travelled to ANZ Stadium, they were pumped 40-14 by the Bulldogs. It is the venue where they had their hearts broken in last year’s grand final.
And while I don’t believe Hunt is scarred by his ill-fated extra-time blunder at Homebush, he and Roberts are the two Broncos who must find their mojo against the Rabbitohs.
Watching Roberts this season, I see a player with so much untapped potential.
When he came to the Broncos, there was a lot of hype around him because of his brilliant tryscoring feats at the Titans the previous season.
There’s no doubt he’s been more of a marked man this year, but Roberts needs to undertake an honest critique of his game and learn lessons from his predecessor, Justin Hodges.
Centres can easily drift out of a contest but Hodges was never a passenger. He made it his mission to go looking for the ball and his calling card became the early-set dummy-half incursions that eased the strain on his forwards and got the Broncos out of trouble.
Roberts is tailor-made to emulate Hodges. His blinding speed off the mark makes him the ideal candidate to get into dummy-half and punch his way through the opposition defence.
But Roberts’ involvement can also be aided by the understanding he cultivates with the playmaker inside him, who just happens to be Hunt.
Part of Hunt’s development as a playmaker is not only personal but discovering ways to extract the best of his teammates.
Roberts is a centre crying out for more ball. At the moment, Hunt has been struggling to get Roberts in the one-on-one situations where he can leverage his unrivalled pace.
Creating space for centre is not as simple as distributing the ball early. The challenge for Hunt is being able to hold up opposition defenders on his inside. He can do that by playing more direct and taking the ball to the line at speed. That commits defenders. Only then will Hunt free-up space for Roberts, who has had some success this year catching defenders off-guard by running inside lines.
Hunt’s reluctance to run the ball is symptomatic of Brisbane’s collective lack of confidence right now. Five losses in six games will test any team’s self-belief, which is why the Broncos must keep it simple.
Souths have been ill-disciplined this season and it’s important Brisbane don’t get bogged down in an error-riddled affair. Teams never emerge from a slump in one week.
This game is Hunt’s opportunity to back himself, grind out a win, bring some fun back to Red Hill and unleash ‘The Jet’ for Brisbane’s run to the finals
No Cookies | The Courier Mail
DARREN LOCKYER, EXCLUSIVE, The Courier-Mail
JAMES Roberts and Ben Hunt are the two players who need to fire to breathe life back into the Broncos’ season against the Rabbitohs at ANZ Stadium.
There are times at a club when, internally, you know it’s time to flick the switch. A few losses build pressure. The critics come out of the woodwork. The stakes suddenly raise.
It’s too melodramatic to say the Broncos are a club in crisis, but the clash against Souths will be a compelling barometer of the mental state of Wayne Bennett’s squad.
The last time the Broncos travelled to ANZ Stadium, they were pumped 40-14 by the Bulldogs. It is the venue where they had their hearts broken in last year’s grand final.
And while I don’t believe Hunt is scarred by his ill-fated extra-time blunder at Homebush, he and Roberts are the two Broncos who must find their mojo against the Rabbitohs.
Watching Roberts this season, I see a player with so much untapped potential.
When he came to the Broncos, there was a lot of hype around him because of his brilliant tryscoring feats at the Titans the previous season.
There’s no doubt he’s been more of a marked man this year, but Roberts needs to undertake an honest critique of his game and learn lessons from his predecessor, Justin Hodges.
Centres can easily drift out of a contest but Hodges was never a passenger. He made it his mission to go looking for the ball and his calling card became the early-set dummy-half incursions that eased the strain on his forwards and got the Broncos out of trouble.
Roberts is tailor-made to emulate Hodges. His blinding speed off the mark makes him the ideal candidate to get into dummy-half and punch his way through the opposition defence.
But Roberts’ involvement can also be aided by the understanding he cultivates with the playmaker inside him, who just happens to be Hunt.
Part of Hunt’s development as a playmaker is not only personal but discovering ways to extract the best of his teammates.
Roberts is a centre crying out for more ball. At the moment, Hunt has been struggling to get Roberts in the one-on-one situations where he can leverage his unrivalled pace.
Creating space for centre is not as simple as distributing the ball early. The challenge for Hunt is being able to hold up opposition defenders on his inside. He can do that by playing more direct and taking the ball to the line at speed. That commits defenders. Only then will Hunt free-up space for Roberts, who has had some success this year catching defenders off-guard by running inside lines.
Hunt’s reluctance to run the ball is symptomatic of Brisbane’s collective lack of confidence right now. Five losses in six games will test any team’s self-belief, which is why the Broncos must keep it simple.
Souths have been ill-disciplined this season and it’s important Brisbane don’t get bogged down in an error-riddled affair. Teams never emerge from a slump in one week.
This game is Hunt’s opportunity to back himself, grind out a win, bring some fun back to Red Hill and unleash ‘The Jet’ for Brisbane’s run to the finals
No Cookies | The Courier Mail
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