POST GAME World Club Challenge - Wigan vs Brisbane

[Cult]

Adam Blair- Was really good. I think his initial hitups motivated McGuire too. Good offloads and great in defense.
Mitchell Dodds- Was very quiet. Didn't look to make any mistakes in attack of defense. Probably didn't do enough to earn a spot in the 17.
James Gavet- Was excited to have him but made some silly mistakes and his walking hitups were ridiculous.
Alex Glenn- Hitting holes like a second rower should be! Was really good in defense too.
Justin Hodges- He's Justin Hodges and had a very Justin Hodges game.
Ben Hunt- Ran well, defended well. Kicking game needs work but hopefully McCullough and Milford take some pressure off him.
Jordan Kahu- I was impressed. Ran hard and defended well. Would like to see him get more involved in the kicking.
Lachlan Maranta- Stepped inside when the corner was free but we have come to expect it from him.
Andrew McCullough- Quiet. Knew he wasn't running much when his jersey was clean 65 minutes in. Needs to take more control
Josh McGuire- In for a big year. Runs hard and fast and looks hard to stop.
Anthony Milford- Was quiet in the first half. Ref was picking on him a bit but he really showed some spark in the second half. Probably would have scored twice on a dry field. He also impressed me with his defense.
Kodi Nikorima- Also gave us a spark off the bench. Don't know if hooker is a good position for him.
Joe Ofahengaue- Made some big hit ups and I don't think he made any mistakes.
Corey Parker- A few silly mistakes but he played well. Kinda glad we kicked that penalty goal earlier in the game.
Sam Thaiday- Didn't seem as lazy as usual. Doesn't know how to hit a hole and doesn't make an impact with his hit ups. Very Martin Lang-like.
Daniel Vidot- Made some good metres but couldn't get the traction he usually does. They went to Whitchurch and Maranta more in attack for some reason.
Aaron Whitchurch- I know he had a terrible first half with the ball but he shut down a lot of Wigans attack out wide with some really good tackles.

 

[Super Freak]

That first Broncos try.. McCullough was offside.

Now I'm curious about the rule. Any offside player is placed onside when the player with ball runs 10 metres or more. Does that count if he runs sideways? If so, then fair try.

If not, then that should not have been a try.

Ah well, it was given and I'll take it.

 

[ningnangnong]

I was treating this game as a pre-season trial and didn't really care about the outcome, but after having to listen to those commentators and watch how seriously Wigan were taking it, I'm delighted we won- in the cruellest way possible too.

We looked surprisingly fit which is an excellent sign. It was a heavy pitch and a fairly intense game (for a February match), but we looked strong throughout in terms of our fitness.

Great to see Glenn playing like he was a few seasons ago.

 

[Morkel]

I liked that there is already 100% more Doddage this year compared to last.

 

[Unbreakable]

I liked that there is already 100% more Doddage this year compared to last.

It's a shame he made like 3 metres a run, but yeah, it was good to see him on the field at least.

 

[broncos4life]

I was treating this game as a pre-season trial and didn't really care about the outcome, but after having to listen to those commentators and watch how seriously Wigan were taking it, I'm delighted we won- in the cruellest way possible too.

We looked surprisingly fit which is an excellent sign. It was a heavy pitch and a fairly intense game (for a February match), but we looked strong throughout in terms of our fitness.

Great to see Glenn playing like he was a few seasons ago.

I'm starting up the fan club again, you in?

 

[Unbreakable]

I've been on Alex Glenn island a while, it's pretty lonely on here at the moment. He's been consistently above average for the last couple of seasons without being spectacular, but now that he's got Milford inside him getting him into holes I think we're going to see him back to his best, hope he gets first crack in the #11 come round 1.

Gillett or Thaiday can come off the bench, don't care which one.

 

[broncos4life]

I've been on Alex Glenn island a while, it's pretty lonely on here at the moment. He's been consistently above average for the last couple of seasons without being spectacular, but now that he's got Milford inside him getting him into holes I think we're going to see him back to his best, hope he gets first crack in the #11 come round 1.

Gillett or Thaiday can come off the bench, don't care which one.

I'm on the way, open the rum

 

[QUEENSLANDER]

Plays average at five-eight in mud, must be a fullback! Plays well at five-eight in mud, must be a fullback? See why some people think you're ridiculous?


If only Hunt picked up a good bicycle kick from that soccer player he met. Seriously what else can they do with all the pressure they have on them?

Ur missing the point. Miflord excelled today in situations that fullbacks encounter. Following forwards for offloads and gathering kicks with a broken defensive line in front of him. When those situations arose he was fantastic.

however, when we needed him for direction and structure he was pretty ordinary. His kicking game is non existent at the moment and the only good pass he threw all game was to Glenn who gets a lot of the credit, he ran those lines beautifully all night. Sure, Milford will make a good fist of 6, but imagine what he could be doing from the back. Those few glimpses we saw today would be far more common. He is a fullback playing in the halves.

And seriously, do u think hunt has a good kicking game? Not just today, but last year? He is a serious talent with superb skills but his kicking game is probably the worst in the NRL in terms of halfbacks. 90% of his last tackle plays are bombs, and they aren't well placed bombs, they are just all over the place hoping for a mistake. If he could add a bit of variation and also learn to place his bombs better, he would be an elite halfback. Id be shocked if you think he is a good kicker.

 

[Unbiased Nostalgia]

It's pretty much factual after last year, clutching at straws with these debate fellas.

 

[Morkel]

Not that I subscribe to this being the best team, but after Hodges' cut-out pass for the first try (even though Hodgo was technically positioned at FB)...

1) Milford
2) Vidot
3) Reed
4) Copley
5) Kahu
6) Hodges

Being serious for a second though, I thought that when Wigan scored that last try, it was 2014 all over again. Just can't close out a game. However, our tactics and forward-planning in extra time was excellent. Alternating between FG attempts, and kicking for the corner, made it difficult for Wigan to predict, and also helped to pin them down. No panic, excellent defence, it was all class. The ending sucked, but chances are we would have had a shot at drop-goal 15-20 out in front of the posts anyway.

 

[Super Freak]

Be honest.. How many people were screaming at Maranta when it looked like he dropped that ball in extra time?

The people down the street could hear my reaction...

 

[Danoz Direct]

I everyone should just give Milford and Hunt time to settle as a halves combination and then we can start judging.

 

[theshed]

The biggest thing I got from that game is that I actually felt like I was watching a broncos game. A rare experience the last few years.

We were aggressive in attack and defense and the boys kept digging in.

The entire starting 13 were impressive. Great to see Glenn, Blair, and Sam playing in a way that closer resembles their potential.
Kahu was solid under the conditions and will do a good job until Boyd returns.
Milford was exciting, Hunt was quiet, and both suck at 5th tackle options.
Whitchurch stunk up the joint.
Miranta was safe in defence but had a very Marantary game.

 

[QUEENSLANDER]

Not that I subscribe to this being the best team, but after Hodges' cut-out pass for the first try (even though Hodgo was technically positioned at FB)...

1) Milford
2) Vidot
3) Reed
4) Copley
5) Kahu
6) Hodges

Being serious for a second though, I thought that when Wigan scored that last try, it was 2014 all over again. Just can't close out a game. However, our tactics and forward-planning in extra time was excellent. Alternating between FG attempts, and kicking for the corner, made it difficult for Wigan to predict, and also helped to pin them down. No panic, excellent defence, it was all class. The ending sucked, but chances are we would have had a shot at drop-goal 15-20 out in front of the posts anyway.

I think that's the best team we can make with the players we have. Hodges at 6 can do the same as Milford at 6, with hodges having a slightly better passing game at this stage. Neither offers much of a kicking game, but it does allow Milford to get more space. Kahu wasn't that impressive at fullback today, and from what I read he was pretty bad in the trials.

 

[Painin the Haas]

Another good thing from Blair was towards the end Whitchurch was trying to push someone into touch and they offloaded to another who Milford was onto straight away and the chance to push him out was still on and Blair ran over and made sure it happened gotta love that

He ran hard, offloaded well and defence nailed them every time. When we announced his signing I went oh ok um yeah that could work but if he keeps that up I will feel silly for hesitating

Milford reminded me of Ben hunt when he played with Corey Norman in 2012 for a game or two, you could tell he had great vision but failed in execution but as we all know he got better so positive signs from Milford been in the halves

 

[LockNLoad]

Highlights

 

[QUEENSLANDER]

I've been on Alex Glenn island a while, it's pretty lonely on here at the moment. He's been consistently above average for the last couple of seasons without being spectacular, but now that he's got Milford inside him getting him into holes I think we're going to see him back to his best, hope he gets first crack in the #11 come round 1.

Gillett or Thaiday can come off the bench, don't care which one.

Wouldnt surprise me at all if Glenn plays 80. He's already been earmarked as milfords "bodyguard" and he looks like he is going to hit the form from a few years back when he was our leading try scorer.