POST GAME World Club Series - Wolves vs Broncos

[Broncoman]

We have no excuses Warrington were the much better team, they out enthused us, took their chances in the first half and we let ourselves down with poor decisions and basic mistakes. Thought we did okay to keep ourselves in the game and didn't disgrace ourselves in the end.

Thought McCullogh was our best with some good defense around the ruck and laid on a great kick for our first try. Thought the forwards sucked as they couldn't build any momentum and played to sideways. Backs were poor apart from Roberts and Milford and Hunt's kicking didn't adapt to English fields as they were taught a lesson in that department.

Some other observations

- Mead did alright in his first Broncos game. Came up with a couple of good touches and got a try as well. Made the second effort.

- Some of our blokes looked beefed up especially Milford

- Had no problems with the referees, a few 50/50 calls but the home team usually gets those. No point blaming them if we weren't good enough

- Hopefully this will give us a wake up call before the NRL season starts

- Good to see Kurt Gidley still going around and going well in Europe. I always had time for him.

 

[holdzy]

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.

I don't think it's a coincidence the Milf/Hunt combo went to shit in 2016.

Milf and Hunt seem to get along but I've heard rumblings there has been tension over the last year.

 

[Foordy]

so my thoughts:

Boyd was solid at the back as usual.

Kahu looks to have been working on his goal kicking ... nailed 2 from the sidelines.

Milford was MIA

Hunt was below par, although one half decent kick towards the end that almost resulted in a try to Oates

Macca wasn't bad, a couple of nice kicks (including attacking kicks, which is unusual for him ... hopefully he keeps them up as another option).

Roberts needs to settle the **** down ... he ran in twice during heated moments and if he does that in the NRL, he will find himself spending a bit of time in the sin bin.

TPJ looked quite good, he is progressing nicely, will be a good bench player for us this season.

Fai looks like our best prop prospect.

Ofahengue and Ese'ese really need to step it up, I didn't think much of either of their performances.

we really missed Blair ... their kicker Brown had all the time in the world to get his kicks away, and Blair is one of the best in the business at pressuring kickers.

Hopefully that knocked some rust out.

 

[pagey]

We have no excuses Warrington were the much better team, they out enthused us, took their chances in the first half and we let ourselves down with poor decisions and basic mistakes. Thought we did okay to keep ourselves in the game and didn't disgrace ourselves in the end.

Thought McCullogh was our best with some good defense around the ruck and laid on a great kick for our first try. Thought the forwards sucked as they couldn't build any momentum and played to sideways. Backs were poor apart from Roberts and Milford and Hunt's kicking didn't adapt to English fields as they were taught a lesson in that department.

Some other observations

- Mead did alright in his first Broncos game. Came up with a couple of good touches and got a try as well. Made the second effort.

- Some of our blokes looked beefed up especially Milford

- Had no problems with the referees, a few 50/50 calls but the home team usually gets those. No point blaming them if we weren't good enough

- Hopefully this will give us a wake up call before the NRL season starts

- Good to see Kurt Gidley still going around and going well in Europe. I always had time for him.

I think their dismissal 10 meters is a decent excuse!

 

[Broncs_Fan]

Hunt's kicking game sucks - but overall he is a pretty good player. Things look grim next year when he leaves. Who on Earth is going to play halfback? It's not going to be easy recruiting someone.

 

[FaithinHook]

Won

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.

Wonderful analysis Pushkin. Are you a rugby league journo by the way ?

 

[FaithinHook]

I don't think it's a coincidence the Milf/Hunt combo went to shit in 2016.

Milf and Hunt seem to get along but I've heard rumblings there has been tension over the last year.

Holdzy, please PM to talk more about this rumour you know of between Hunt an Milf.thanks

 

[K-Style]

Won

Wonderful analysis Pushkin. Are you a rugby league journo by the way ?

I don't think PK wrote that.

 

[Pushkin]

Won

Wonderful analysis Pushkin. Are you a rugby league journo by the way ?

No it was on nrl website

 

[Fozz]

One positive, Kahu played an entire game at centre without getting injured.

 

[Splinter]

One positive, Kahu played an entire game at centre without getting injured.

Hard to get hurt when you don't do anything

 

[isaiah]

Just one comment after the try 2.35 min in, why was Roberts so slow to get back?

 

[Dash]

Just one comment after the try 2.35 min in, why was Roberts so slow to get back?

Laziness is my guess. For someone so fast, he sure struggles to keep up with the play.

 

[bent]

so my thoughts:

Boyd was solid at the back as usual.

Kahu looks to have been working on his goal kicking ... nailed 2 from the sidelines.

Milford was MIA

Hunt was below par, although one half decent kick towards the end that almost resulted in a try to Oates

Macca wasn't bad, a couple of nice kicks (including attacking kicks, which is unusual for him ... hopefully he keeps them up as another option).

Roberts needs to settle the **** down ... he ran in twice during heated moments and if he does that in the NRL, he will find himself spending a bit of time in the sin bin.

TPJ looked quite good, he is progressing nicely, will be a good bench player for us this season.

Fai looks like our best prop prospect.

Ofahengue and Ese'ese really need to step it up, I didn't think much of either of their performances.

we really missed Blair ... their kicker Brown had all the time in the world to get his kicks away, and Blair is one of the best in the business at pressuring kickers.

Hopefully that knocked some rust out.

Spot On.

TPJ looks a beast. I really hope this guy gets plenty of minutes. I would like to see what he could do with one of the first 13s minutes, next time one of them is off there game. He has the talent and doesnt need to be nursed anymore.

Fai looks ready, this is the best game I have seen him play, hope he gets more opportunities, this season.

Offa tries hard but is quantity over quality. Like you said, why couldnt he have made it his missions to go after the kickers. He needs to start doing the 1%ers that say "pick me", or he going to get lapped by one of the boys coming through behind him, with more size.

Hunts kicks.... (while still being a fail occasionally) were good from the aspect, they at least looked controlled and confident based on the situation. That is better than last season, where they were often a last second decision (that he had never practised before) with no-one informed they were coming.

What is doing with Milf? Hes huge...but yes MIA.

 

[Mightybroncs2k17]

I definitely thought our kick chases were well below par, generally that's one thing we are really good with regardless but I felt like we never pressured them in our chase even attacking bombs giddy had all the time in the world to catch the ball. I also think if we learnt anything it's that either Macca must play the whole 80 mins or Kodi must be on the bench as we just lose too much having anyone else fill in the hooker role. I did kind of like the idea of four forwards on the bench but it just doesn't work if macca doesn't play 80.

In general I'd be much more worried if we had of played our best football and lost (like the 2015 gf against the cowboys and the semi final last year) and there been little improvement we could make as opposed so just playing a downright bad game and going down by 9 but having miles of improvement in our game. I mean our completion rate was 66% to Warringtons 97%... how often do you ever see a completion rate so high??? Add to that an 11-4 penalty count in their favour! turn those two stats around and you've got a more tired opposition pack and a more energised forward pack from us. It's definitely not all doom and gloom just one of those games that wasn't meant be.

 

[Mightybroncs2k17]

God really put his offload away in the last couple of seasons.

I know as I watched him intently due to SuperCoach. He averaged just over one a game last year so it's not like he was prolific.

Totally made agree on the the God and his offloads. Are you playing SuperCoach this year? Got any spare spots in your leagues?

 

[Big Pete]

Just finished with the first half.

At 20-6, the Broncos had a golden opportunity to get themselves back into the contest. Their set of six after points was everything you could have wanted and when McCullough earned his side a penalty with a clever dart from dummy half it appeared they were going to go back to back. Unfortunately as it's often the case just as they were building momentum, the opposition gave away the penalty and they lost their way. My biggest gripe with the Broncos attack, and it's been this way for a long time is that they don't play short enough inside the opposition twenty. It always has to be a cut-out pass to Milford or Hunt and Boyd which ultimately gives the opposition more time to predict the play and come up with the right option. Save for some fantastic finishing efforts from Oates and Kahu, I doubt the Broncos would have been as potent as they have been in recent years. But we saw the same thing here where McCullough went long to Milford, he was quickly taken by the Wolves defence and then on the 4th tackle, instead of using the quick play the ball to really challenge the line, or giving Hunt an opportunity to put the defence in two minds, he has to pass it onto McGuire who basically just wastes a tackle.

Brisbane have two of the best running halves in the game, it boggles my mind they rarely get the ball inside the opposition twenty and when they do, it has to be a long loopy pass from McCullough. There needs to be a license for either half to go into dummy half when they want to or more short plays where the half can lay on an inside pass to draw the defence back inside to give the likes of Roberts and Kahu space out-wide. Instead, what we see a lot is by the time Roberts gets the ball, he has to run back inside because the defence is already over him like a wet blanket. It completely ruins the formation for the Broncos and rarely results in points.

I feel like the forwards are copping a rough go of it. All four of the Wolves tries were down to poor defence (or play) from the edge players. Whenever they were getting bent backwards, it was largely due to the Wolves targeting Hunt-Roberts' channel in defence or off a 20m restart. Ofahengaue in particular seems to be copping a rough go off it despite coming up with some of the best carries and tackles of the half for Brisbane.

If I had one complaint with the forwards, it's that we rely on our backs far too often to make metres. Too often it seems like the Broncos go through sets where Boyd, Oates, Kahu and even Roberts have to touch the ball first before a forward ever thinks of carting it up. It should be two back hit-ups and then a forward, the way the Broncos currently do it makes it too easy for the opposition.

 

[winslow_wong]

So we've lost one trial out of 4? Big deal. I'd be worried if a qcup side beat us but not so much against a super league side at their home ground. I'm just happy there weren't any major injuries.