TRIAL 3: BRONCOS 6 v COWBOYS 26

SATURDAY FEB 26, 8PM (QLD TIME), 9PM (COCKROACH TIME): BRONCOS v COWBOYS. BB PRINT STADIUM, MACKAY

WEATHER

GUSTY STORM CLEARING. 23 DEGREES.

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BRONCOS TEAM
1. Selwyn Cobbo
2. Corey Oates
3. Kotoni Staggs
4. Herbie Farnworth
5. Jordan Pereira
6. Tyson Gamble
7. Billy Walters
8. Pat Carrigan
9. Cory Paix
10. Payne Haas
11. Kurt Capewell ©
12. Jordan Riki
13. Kobe Hetherington

14. Ryan James
15. Keenan Palasia
16. Jake Turpin
17. Rhys Kennedy
18. Corey Jensen
19. Tyson Gamble
20. TC Robati
21. David Mead
22. Ezra Mam
23. Brenko Lee
24. Jamayne Isaako

COWBOYS TEAM
1. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow
2. Kyle Feldt
3. Valentine Holmes
4. Peta Hiku
5. Murray Taulagi
6. Tom Dearden
7. Chad Townsend
8. Jamayne Taunoa-Brown
9. Reece Robson
10. Coen Hess
11. Heilum Luki
12. Jeremiah Nanai
13. Reuben Cotter

14. Jake Granville
15. Jordan McLean
16. Mitch Dunn
17. Tom Gilbert
18. Brendan Elliot
19. Scott Drinkwater
20. Griffin Neame





Match will be telecast on Fox/Kayo.

Cowboys v Broncos

North Queensland Cowboys versus Brisbane Broncos match centre includes live scores and updates. Includes official live player and team stats. Run metres, fantasy points scoring.

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Other matches in @theshed Cockroach time. Subtract an hour for QLD:

4pm — Sunday February 20: Panthers vs Sharks
6pm — Sunday February 20: Eels vs Dragons
7pm — Monday February 21: Bulldogs vs Knights
6pm — Friday February 25: Sea Eagles vs Raiders
8pm — Friday February 25: Roosters vs Tigers
3pm — Saturday February 26: Warriors vs Titans
5pm — Saturday February 26: Panthers vs Eels
7pm — Saturday February 26: Rabbitohs vs Dragons
5.45pm — Sunday February 27: Storm vs Knights
7pm — Monday February 28: Sharks vs Bulldogs

 

[Mightybroncs2k17]

Trial form generally isn't an indication on true season form so i won't get too carried away but that was very underwhelming.

Apart from the first 20 mins I thought we looked flat, lacked energy and almost looked uninterested like they didn't want to be there. Thought we looked more like 13 individuals then one team.

I get the feeling we might have to string some ugly wins together to get ourselves going this year. While our attack was very disjointed i think we need to put that aside and focus souly on defence.

I don't have an answer for who should start at 6 but i think Paix probably takes over as first choice hooker. And as much as many wont like it i think Issako starts fullback. Providing he doesn't have anymore brain farts at least you know he's servicable.

Hetherington is becoming a real colt figure. Just gets in and does the hard yards no questions asked.

There's going to be some real pressure on Kevvie to get these guys performing. There's definitely a real football team in there somewhere and he's going to cop the blame if we dont fire. We have go forward in the middle, strike out wide (a) halfback to organise so failure really isnt an option.

Going to be a nervous start to the season for all involved.

 

[007]

Good:

• Paix needs to be hooker.
• Hetherington and Haas were fantastic. We have some good forwards who will eventually gel together.
• Walters will cop some crap, but he tried way too much last night. Just a result of being on his own, still rate this as good because the effort and commitment was there.

Bad:

• Our RHS defence fell down because Gamble and Staggs couldn't talk. The RHS had no shift.
• Gamble was bog average and wasted so many pressure opportunities. Choosing to kick high so often in the rain was a disaster. 99% of the goal line sets should have had the ball put on the deck, in the goal area to force a drop out.
• Periera with his high ball ability, or complete lack of it just vanished last night.

Thing to worry about:

• The chopping and changing of our forward pack has them lost in position on field. Littler lateral shift especially out wide.
• Lack of cohesion is really bad considering the talk and hype and length of pre season.
• The ability to grind out and get into the fight is still missing.
• Our depth might look alright on paper, but the quality hasnt risen since the spoon. Guys like Kennedy etc just haven't evolved - i seriously hope we dont get a run of injuries.

 

[McHunt]

Lot of fingerpointing going on after that pisspoor effort.

 

[the_next]

Wouldnt be suprised if a few of these blokes had their heads in the papers this last week..
Turpin looked uninterested/like a bloke who has been told he wont be the main 9 to start the season.
B.Walters was MIA and if he thinks/been told he is 6 he may have felt he didnt need to prove anything and just try and get through un-injured.
Even a few players in post game interviews mentioned how much of a difference Reyno will make when he comes into the side.
I have a bad feeling they just think they’re going to win everything once Reynolds is in the 7 jersey..

 

[Huge]

Thought we were pretty good in parts. Not much to worry about. Training will be Renault running the team in match configurations right up till game 1.

 

[Wolfie]

Good:

• Paix needs to be hooker.
• Hetherington and Haas were fantastic. We have some good forwards who will eventually gel together.
• Walters will cop some crap, but he tried way too much last night. Just a result of being on his own, still rate this as good because the effort and commitment was there.

Bad:

• Our RHS defence fell down because Gamble and Staggs couldn't talk. The RHS had no shift.
• Gamble was bog average and wasted so many pressure opportunities. Choosing to kick high so often in the rain was a disaster. 99% of the goal line sets should have had the ball put on the deck, in the goal area to force a drop out.
• Periera with his high ball ability, or complete lack of it just vanished last night.

Thing to worry about:

• The chopping and changing of our forward pack has them lost in position on field. Littler lateral shift especially out wide.
• Lack of cohesion is really bad considering the talk and hype and length of pre season.
• The ability to grind out and get into the fight is still missing.
• Our depth might look alright on paper, but the quality hasnt risen since the spoon. Guys like Kennedy etc just haven't evolved - i seriously hope we dont get a run of injuries.

I think your point about the defence and lack of talk is spot on and probably extends to a lot of other positions.

 

[Gaz]

The boys seemed lethargic and a bit unwilling to go hard. Like they didn't want to put the body at risk. The cows looked like they wanted to prove something and were not there to play an exhibition match only.

I am not worried about trials, as in the 9's comp you can't pick a trajectory from games like these. Some teams go hard and some just want to get out there and get a bit of match fitness. It's how we start and build into the season.

The biggest thing will be picking and sticking with the spine especially. We need this team to be secure and sure of themselves. We looked all over the place tonight because everyone was in different positions and even different sides of the park. We can not be doing that season time.

Thing is, we have trialed against two teams now who appear to be Rnd 1 ready and close to playing NRL footy.
However we are still in “ go out there and show me what you got - Wynnum trial mode”,
Kevin now now has a fortnight to get this mess sorted and produce a Rnd 1 footy team capable of playing as a team. Never know he might surprise but have my doubts and won’t be the only one.

 

[Tim K]

Yes, Hass is elite. He’s great. No question. But. I often wish he would just find the ground sooner rather than fighting for that last 3-5m. He looks strong and the commentators froth over it but it rarely translates into a quick play the ball. There is generally 3 blokes on him by then and it’s the guy around the ankles that brings him down. He is rarely in control of his body position at that point and funds his back a lot. He’s does plenty of great things but what you really want from a dominant run is a quick play the ball. And both he and Carrigan should be given a spell sooner on most occasions.

 

[heartly87]

I think Reynolds fixes a lot of the issues but this will take time. I couldn’t be less concerned by trials and I thought it was very obvious that they were going through the motions with the priority to get through without injuries.

The Cowboys however seemed to play like it was a grand final which quite frankly I find bizarre, it is like the coach sent them out to win the preseason like that means something which if I am a cowboys fan I would find very concerning.

Yeah and his behavior in the box was giving that energy also. Coach Payten looks like one of those guys that is never happy. His side gave us a touch up in wet weather footy and he still looked like he wanted to punch a couple of them.

It's a big contrast between how the Cows and their coach looked and say how the Roosters and Trent looked through these trials. The Roosters have not won a match and I doubt Trent would be concerned at all. He would have notes on every player in his side this year and will be thinking of ways to get the most out of them. He would not be expecting or wanting to see the player's peaking in a trial.

Trials are very strange to play in, even in lower grades. I recall when I played in FOGS back in the day and then in my senior years that across your team, players approached and expected completely different things out of themselves. So you end up getting a mish-mash of tempos and productivity.
Hetherington is a perfect example of a guy who put in his best, to show the coach he has what it takes. Staggs to me was just going about 70% as his spot is secure and he knows everyone knows what he can do. That is why I wouldn't take that much from a trial. The team has different goals and are not all focusing on getting the two season points, their in selfish mode either just doing enough to preserve their bodies or going hard to get a squad or run on spot.

Your right about Reynolds also, the Cows looked that much better partly because they had a half back in Townsend running the game and secondly because TD was out to prove something against his ex team and put in a solid performance. We had two 5/8's playing and it showed.

 

[Gaz]

Kicking for goal just before half time was bizarre. Wouldn’t you have a crack at a set play or something?

I thought the penalty and 10mins was bizarre.

 

[Fitzy]

I think we will improve immensely by round 1. Adam fixes end of sets. We now need to go and have some goal line attacking structures other than hope for the best and run hard. We also need some goal line defence work. Couldn’t really care less what the team is as long as the forward pack is the same as what it was and Paix is 9, Reynolds is 7. The rest can be a free for all.

 

[BroncsFan]

I think we will improve immensely by round 1. Adam fixes end of sets. We now need to go and have some goal line attacking structures other than hope for the best and run hard. We also need some goal line defence work. Couldn’t really care less what the team is as long as the forward pack is the same as what it was and Paix is 9, Reynolds is 7. The rest can be a free for all.

One thing I noticed in the titans game, which I'm thinking (hoping ) is more representative of how we will play, was the up and in style of our defence on the edges.

Staggs was coming up and in a fair bit on our line to shut down raids... and Brenko and Capewell both shot out of the line at times to cut down spreads. That wasn't happening all that well last night, which makes me think they just went out to preserve themselves.

The field was horrendous and my first thoughts from the initial hitups, with the water splashing around everywhere, was this is the exact kind of night where someone does an ACL.

The players probably saw that, and knowing they were playing on a second rate field, decided to simplify everything and play within themselves to make sure they get through to Rd 1.

There were a lot of lazy efforts in defence, that weren't there in the first half of the titans game, which suggests the starting team is probably known and some of the guys are just out there to blow out the cobwebs.

 

[Allo]

I think Reynolds fixes a lot of the issues but this will take time. I couldn’t be less concerned by trials and I thought it was very obvious that they were going through the motions with the priority to get through without injuries.

The Cowboys however seemed to play like it was a grand final which quite frankly I find bizarre, it is like the coach sent them out to win the preseason like that means something which if I am a cowboys fan I would find very concerning.

Payten probably thinks his boys need a good win and hopes that carries some confidence going into the season. Because they were worse than us at the end of last

 

[something]

Cobbo atleast another year off being the fullback. Not fit enough / not involved enough. But a reality check, for all of us, is never a bad thing.

Oates and Periera were okay. Lee was a bit shit, but the left side defence was better than the right side. I feel like one of these three guys is going to miss out, but I don't know which one.

Capewell bad game. Riki okay I'm attack, but bad D.

Staggs didn't do anything, and also had a few bad misreads in D, which is frustrating.

Halves didn't play to conditions. Probably the most frustrating part of this game. I like Gamble a lot but he just isn't skilled enough.

Paix looked way better than Turpin. If I were coach I'd have 9. Paix 14. Billy....
Turpin is lackluster.

Haas, Hetherington & Patty were good, most of the reserves were pretty average with Palasia being the best of them.

Whole second half was yuck.

Overall 3/10 performance.

 

[broncos4life]

One thing I noticed in the titans game, which I'm thinking (hoping ) is more representative of how we will play, was the up and in style of our defence on the edges.

Staggs was coming up and in a fair bit on our line to shut down raids... and Brenko and Capewell both shot out of the line at times to cut down spreads. That wasn't happening all that well last night, which makes me think they just went out to preserve themselves.

The field was horrendous and my first thoughts from the initial hitups, with the water splashing around everywhere, was this is the exact kind of night where someone does an ACL.

The players probably saw that, and knowing they were playing on a second rate field, decided to simplify everything and play within themselves to make sure they get through to Rd 1.

There were a lot of lazy efforts in defence, that weren't there in the first half of the titans game, which suggests the starting team is probably known and some of the guys are just out there to blow out the cobwebs.

Agree with a lot of that. I do think it is funny our mentality as fans where a majority of us are upset that it looked like we were not playing hard etc. yet if they did in those conditions and someone does an ACL or similar we would all be saying “it’s a trial FFS why are they playing that hard”.

 

[Fitzy]

Agree with a lot of that. I do think it is funny our mentality as fans where a majority of us are upset that it looked like we were not playing hard etc. yet if they did in those conditions and someone does an ACL or similar we would all be saying “it’s a trial FFS why are they playing that hard”.

To be honest I think it’s just an excuse people are chucking up to justify that performance. It did seem like nobody really wanted to get involved with those conditions and get through the game but I think that was more thinking if I do nothing I can’t fail rather than getting injured. Need an attitude adjustment before south’s and they need some direction in goal line attack and defence. Clueless

 

[Bongo]

"trained too hard" - not fit enough to play 80 minutes against the cows.... yeah, pull the other one guys, ffs.

Our whole squad had covid a month ago. I think there is some fatigue issues from that and we probably just decided to get through the second half.

I think our real issues are the same substandard defensive and attacking structures. We are still one out with only our ball runner moving. We need more variety. I can't understand why we haven't addressed this in 2 years.

We also need to pick and stick. This is what I would go with.

1 Cobbo
2 Oates
3 Lee
4. Staggs
5 Farnworth
6 Kelly
7 Reynolds
8 Haas
9 Walters
10 Carrigan
11. Capewell
12. Riki
13. Hetherington
14. Paix
15. Jensen
16. Palasia
17. James

 

[Bongo]

On face value Cobbo was no better than Isaako

Some really good carries, looked damaging, a spectator when needed at the back

I think Cobbo is underdone. I liked his carries. We are easily the worst team in diffusing kicks and we don't seem to have a fullback or winger that is good at that on our books.