POST GAME World Club Series - Wolves vs Broncos

[ChewThePhatt]

Well that was pretty much shit.
On one hand I'm glad its just a pre season trial. Wayne & the boys have alot of work to do! I certainly haven't lost hope though.
On the other hand, I'm extremely disappointed. It's the Broncos jersey on the international stage & we were out classed, out enthused & out played in every aspect. The level of disinterest, lack of heart & zero aggression pissed me off.
Our 6 & 7 are now both considered to be million dollar men...
Nope.
Based on the last 8-10 months, they should be struggling to make 1st grade.
But oh well, chin up!
Bring on round 1!

At least I had a great breakfast
Although, by the end of the game I was wishing I'd gone with whisky in the coffee!

 

[Fernando]

Got up to watch the battle between ESE and Joe O. Was expecting strong efforts from both of them with so much on the line... pretty disappointing efforts in the end.

I'm glad there's a lot of hype about our young forwards because personally I don't see it, and hopefully I'm wrong. But even Arrow who had a decent game seems a bit 'meh' to me.

Can we sign Mike Cooper and that Warrington half that knows how to kick a ball?

 

[Pushkin]

Warrington's shock win over the Broncos raised plenty of questions including the pressure on Ben Hunt, the Broncos' deficiencies in the middle, just how do they replace Corey Parker and the need for an attitude adjustment.
Broncos need attitude adjustment
You could put it down to rust but rugby league Immortal and Channel Nine commentator Andrew Johns believes Brisbane's 27-18 loss to Warrington showed some worrying signs regarding their 2017 premiership campaign.
With one of the strongest rosters in the NRL Brisbane are again expected to feature at the pointy end of September football but Johns warned that they need an adjustment to their attitude if they are to go all the way.
Missing Adam Blair and new recruit Korbin Sims the Broncos were exposed in the middle of the field and made some uncharacteristic errors across the park.
Jordan Kahu, David Mead and Josh McGuire all handed over cheap ball when in possession while James Roberts was lucky to stay on the field after coming in late to two fracas that broke out midway through the second half.
It was enough for Johns to express concern at what 2017 may bring for the Broncos.
"For me this year, I really didn't know how the Broncos were going to go," Johns said in commentary.
"For me it was going to be a funny year for the Broncos but looking at their performance in this game they really need an attitude readjustment going into the season because some of their performances out there by individuals was really poor.
"Warrington threw the ball around which got the Broncos out of their comfort zone and they never looked comfortable the Broncos.
"Three of their best players, their most classy players out and Warrington actually rolled them.
"It could have been much worse. Brisbane were really poor."
Having tipped Brisbane to win comfortably prior to kick-off, Johns was flabbergasted at half-time after Wolves had opened up a 20-0 lead after 18 minutes and led 24-6 at half-time.
"I didn't see this coming. There's no way in the world I saw this coming," Johns said.
"You have a look at the calibre of players that are out for Warrington, I thought they'd really struggle against Brisbane. For me Brisbane has been really poor; really poor in this game."
Hunt feels the pressure from the start
It took less than two minutes for Ben Hunt to experience the type of pressure he will be forced to cope with throughout his final season with the Broncos before joining the Dragons.
With his first kick of the game Hunt's attempted chip over the Warrington defence was charged down by Joe Westerman and Kevin Brown scored from the very next tackle.
He had another kick charged down by Brad Dwyer as Brisbane attempted to launch a second-half comeback and had to contend with a swarming Wolves defence at the end of every set.
He and halves partner Anthony Milford both kicked balls dead in the notoriously narrow English in-goal areas and struggled for any kind of cohesion in their first game together in 2017.
Given the rich deal he has signed to join St George Illawarra Hunt has much to prove this year and there's no hiding from the fact that it got off to a shaky start in the north of England.
Broncos bench spots wide open
Given Korbin Sims delivered a powerful performance up front in Brisbane's trial against Wynnum Manly on Saturday night, it appears as though the Broncos' batch of young forwards are fighting it out for a spot on the bench in Round 1.
Joe Ofahengaue and Herman Ese'ese started for Brisbane against Warrington and although Ofahengaue was industrious and the pick of the pair, it was the introduction of Tevita Pangai Jnr and George Fai that gave the Broncos' some kind of platform with which to work from.
The powerful runs of Pangai are sure to feature in Round 1 against the Sharks but the highly-regarded Fai put himself in the frame with 50 metres from just four charges.
Jai Arrow combined nicely with Milford for a line break late in the game but veteran back-rower Sam Thaiday concedes the make-up of Brisbane's 17 to face the Sharks on March 2 remains a mystery.
"There are probably three bench spots that are up for grabs in our squad and a few of the boys really put their hands up tonight to try and secure one of those spots," Thaiday said.
"Who knows where Wayne [Bennett, Broncos coach] will go with his 17 come Round 1 but we're going to be a lot better because of the game we played tonight against the Warrington Wolves."
NRL old boys step up for Warrington
There were plenty of familiar faces within the Warrington team and although their best may be behind them they gave some timely reminders of just how good their best really is.
Shuffled to fullback due to the withdrawal of Stefan Ratchford and captaining the team in the absence of Chris Hill, former Knights skipper Kurt Gidley was faultless for Warrington, handling the Brisbane kicking game with ease and providing some classy touches in attack, including a superb cut-out pass for Matty Russell's first half try.
In his return to Warrington after three years with St George Illawarra Mike Cooper was relentless in the middle third and the aggressive nature with which Warrington started the game had its foundation in the charges of former Bronco Ashton Sims.
Former Titan Matty Russell also showed that he could more than handle a return to the NRL while hooker Daryl Clark and lock forward Joe Westerman would also have attracted the attention of NRL clubs with their displays.
Where to for James Roberts?
After an off-season in which his place in the game was brought into question due to further allegations of off-field indiscretions, James Roberts gave a display of a typically Jekkyl and Hyde nature. Exposed defensively for Ryan Atkins to score Warrington's second try of the game, Roberts used his blistering speed to breathe life back into the contest in the opening minutes of the second half in a 90-metre try that very few players have the ability to produce.
He twice showed a lack of discipline when he ran in late when the match boiled over with some push and shove midway through the second half, the second of which cost his side a penalty.
There's obviously still a discipline issue with the soon-to-be 24-year-old and it will be interesting to see whether Wayne Bennett's patience eventually runs thin.

 

[Morkel]

Got up to watch the battle between ESE and Joe O. Was expecting strong efforts from both of them with so much on the line... pretty disappointing efforts in the end.

I'm glad there's a lot of hype about our young forwards because personally I don't see it, and hopefully I'm wrong. But even Arrow who had a decent game seems a bit 'meh' to me.

Can we sign Mike Cooper and that Warrington half that knows how to kick a ball?

The difference between "exciting young forwards" and seasoned veterans is ruck awareness. The young ones might run hard and tackle hard if they catch the opposition square, but it's the awareness, getting in to the position to smother the opposition early that makes the difference.

I saw nothing to suggest that Blair & Sims are going to be pushed out of the starting spots. I may be wrong about Sims but I reckon he's being played at lock in the trials just to see which of the other props deserve a bench spot.

Arrow isn't as flash but of all the younger players he seems to be drilled the most on ruck control. He is no where near as big as some of the others but locks up the opposition through smarts instead of brute strength.

 

[Splinter]

Got up to watch the battle between ESE and Joe O. Was expecting strong efforts from both of them with so much on the line... pretty disappointing efforts in the end.

I'm glad there's a lot of hype about our young forwards because personally I don't see it, and hopefully I'm wrong. But even Arrow who had a decent game seems a bit 'meh' to me.

Can we sign Mike Cooper and that Warrington half that knows how to kick a ball?

Maybe the hooker might be good value

 

[Splinter]

Shit I must have been watching another game.

Wished I had been

 

[BroncosAlways]

@mitch222 this is why I told you not to make us sound like South's fans.
Never gloat about a 30 point victory before the games even started mate.

 

[Foordy]

we learned nothing against Wigan ... since we played Warrington :P

 

[1910]

Could anyone tell me Jason Demetriou assistant coach is defensive or attaching coach?

Both.

Gilly was offered the defence role but turned it down when he got back from England. It was only one day a week for a few hours and he didn't see the point. Hard to improve in that short time every week.

 

[Marty Deutschmann]

Both.

Gilly was offered the defence role but turned it down when he got back from England. It was only one day a week for a few hours and he didn't see the point. Hard to improve in that short time every week.

Yeah that's dumb.. clearly they need a lot more than that to improve on today's performance

 

[mrslong]

The attacking side of the game didn't bother me too much. Different conditions, attacking comes naturally as the season progresses. Traditionally defence wins the first few rounds of the year, and that display was diabolical. Our goal line defence has been our saving grace over the last couple of WB years. WTF was that. Hopefully it was just a junket team bonding trip and the boys were told not to get injured, cos otherwise we are in a bit of strife with our draw to start the season.

 

[holdzy]

The attacking side of the game didn't bother me too much. Different conditions, attacking comes naturally as the season progresses. Traditionally defence wins the first few rounds of the year, and that display was diabolical. Our goal line defence has been our saving grace over the last couple of WB years. WTF was that. Hopefully it was just a junket team bonding trip and the boys were told not to get injured, cos otherwise we are in a bit of strife with our draw to start the season.

That's what it looked like to me. A team trying not to get injured as opposed to winning no matter the cost.

 

[heartly87]

Well what can I say, for starters the wolves were never onside, got away with everything in the ruck and were allowed a good headstart on every play the ball. In saying that, it is exactly what is expected when you head to England. Our spine was terrible, apart from Macca but a lot of our deliveries from the ruck where poor. This had a lot to do with the short ten and early starts rushing the boys.

Our forwards had the same issues. I felt Offa was better the Ese-Ese and George Fai looked the best out of them all. TPJ was not the force I wanted him to be but he was not terrible. Moose ???? I will give him time to show us what he has at lock. Glenn was good, Gillet average.

The outside backs I will not blame as they just didn't get the right service and the kicking game was utter shit from Hunt. Milford looks worried or not interested half the time and was not impressive at all.

They have 10 days to get their shit together, this game proves to me, we need Blair 10 and Sims 8 to start. We need that early go forward and defensive integrity.

I am not worried yet, it was a poor game yes but only a trial for us, the wolves are actually into their season.

 

[Big Pete]

Watching the replay now.

As bad as the kick selection was from Hunt (the pass was on in that situation), Westerman was right in-front of the referee when the play-the-ball was made, making him a good metre or two off-side.

The Kahu 'knock on' would have either been let go in the NRL, or the penalty would have been against Evans for crowding the play-the-ball. The subsequent penalty was also a joke with Jack Hughes held about 28m from the line, proceeds to walk 6m off the mark and somehow earns the penalty.

It doesn't excuse the performance, but those are three bad calls right off the bat and if memory serves it doesn't get much better. As bad as the NRL referees can be, I don't think the Broncos will have such a hard time adjusting.

 

[Jason Simmons]

offa - 190 cm and 112 kg
ese - 186cm and 112kg
tpj - 190cm and 113kg
gillett - 187cm and 103kg
thaiday - 181cm and 115kg
mcguire - 180cm and 104kg

how much bigger do you want them to be??

Those might be the stats on the Broncos website. Seen TPJ and Off side by side? They aren't the same height (TPJ is taller) and only 1kg different in weight (TPJ is significantly beefier in frame).

The Broncs lack of relative size in their has been noticed by many in recent years, but doesn't apparently even exist going on 'official' website stats...

 

[Fernando]

Something still seems wrong with Milford's attitude. It's almost like he doesn't want to be playing football.

 

[ChewThePhatt]

Something still seems wrong with Milford's attitude. It's almost like he doesn't want to be playing football.

This!
This worries me

 

[Fernando]

This!
This worries me

Yeah, seems like he is either trying too hard or doesn't want to be there. But he does not look happy on the field and hasn't for a while.