Premiers must win every game to remain in premiership hunt
Updated ,first published
As miraculous as the Broncos’ title push was last year, their defeat against the Sharks on Saturday night ensured they needed to produce something even bigger to stay in finals contention.
Missing State of Origin stars Reece Walsh, Pat Carrigan and Payne Haas were Brisbane stalwarts but suffered errors in an eventual 28-16 defeat at Suncorp Stadium; It was their eighth consecutive defeat as Cronulla flyer Sione Katoa scored a hat-trick.
In two of the three seasons since the Dolphins joined the competition (taking the NRL campaign to 27 rounds) the eighth-placed team finished with 32 completion points; This means the defending champions will likely need to win each of their remaining eight matches to have a chance of qualifying at the end of the year.
But Broncos coach Michael Maguire refused to throw in the towel and said “why not?” he asked. in response to a reporter who asked if they could pull off something unexpected.
“I have a lot of faith in the team, a lot of faith in the group,” he said.
A costly offload attempt from Grant Anderson that went straight into Billy Burns’ lap gave Katoa their first chance of a try, before a clever chip behind halfback Nicho Hynes scored his second try.
Despite Brisbane hooker Cory Paix poking over from close range to put the home team back in the hunt, Braydon Trindall’s magical pass gave Katoa their third 15 minutes into the second half. Full-back Will Kennedy then slotted through soft defending to seemingly seal the result.
A pinpoint delivery from Tom Duffy was followed well by Hayze Perham, who slotted an excellent long ball for Deine Mariner to score on his first appearance since suffering acute compartment syndrome in his leg in the ninth over.
But Kotoni Staggs’s strike for Brisbane fell to Trindall, who raced 60 meters to end the contest.
The Broncos were not injured, as were Origin stars Adam Reynolds (calf), Ezra Mam (shoulder), Aublix Tawha (ankle), Jack Gosiewski (ribs) and Corey Jensen (pulmonary embolism). Josiah Karapani was dismissed due to a series of traffic offenses.
Billy Walters will make his second Queensland Cup appearance on Sunday after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament rupture, while fringe forward Brendan Piakura suffered a concussion after recovering from two successive tackles.
Cronulla’s win also takes them top of the top four, where they now trail only the Dolphins (who play at Newcastle on Sunday) in terms of points difference.
Halves under the pump
While Hynes made his intentions known early in the opening set by working the ball and asking questions of the defence, the Brisbane partnership of Ben Hunt and Duffy combined for just 65 running meters and rarely – if ever – challenged the defensive line.
Much of the attack was directed through the weak forward group, with attacking centers Staggs and Gehamat Shibasaki given limited opportunities to break into the game.
Errors also cost Brisbane dearly, as Xavier Willison, Jordan Riki, Preston Riki and Perham struck from Cronulla’s 20-metre area. Staggs’ failure also occurred in the attack.
By contrast, Hynes, some goal-kick woes in the first half aside, cut a much more confident figure and looked keen to manage the ball whenever possible. He finished with 94 meters from 12 throws, while making tries in the command display for Katoa and Kennedy.
“Halves are often judged on moments, assists and breaks are attempted, but when your halves come into play at a moment’s notice [Hynes and Trindall] “The amount of support they got tonight would probably be the highest of the season,” Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon said.
“You get what you get, and I thought they worked really hard off the ball for the team, so when those kids do that, they become pretty good players.”
Future Willison
Throughout what has been a nightmare Brisbane season, the emergence of Xavier Willison as a genuine long-term starter has been a shining light.
Signed on a contract until the end of 2027, the Kiwi centre-back looks like a man who should be in charge at Red Hill, especially with Haas set to leave for the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
Despite the arrival of New South Wales prop Mitch Barnett at Red Hill, Jensen’s uncertain future will ensure Willison secures a permanent starting spot next year.
Broncos chief medical officer Dr Matt Hislop confirmed this week that Jensen had ongoing blood clots in his lungs and will undergo blood tests in less than three weeks to determine whether there is an underlying autoimmune problem.
If these tests come back positive, he will likely need to take the blood thinner Warfarin for life and will not be able to play contact sports.
Willison ran for 102 meters and completed 54 tackles, missing just two, to keep Brisbane in the fight, while replacement prop Ben Talty also provided some support (126 metres).
The 23-year-old has established himself as the true long-term leader of the Brisbane engine room and retaining him needs to be a key priority for the club hierarchy.
“It’s growing. There’s all these kinds of lessons we’re going through now, we’ve got a lot of players learning what it takes to get on the winning side and we haven’t been able to do that,” Maguire said.
“But we had a lot of players with experience that they probably wouldn’t have had because everyone was on the team. What he’s done gives us a great foundation as a group.”
