Broncos’ fade bad for Maroons, says Wally
Nene’s Dragons fired up
MAROONS legend Wally Lewis holds concerns for Queensland’s Origin future following the Sunshine State’s worst NRL finals finish in five years.
The Broncos’ 48-18 capitulation to the Dragons on Sunday ensured Queensland’s three NRL clubs are sipping on pina coladas three weeks before the grand final.
Not since the Cowboys were knocked out in week one of the 2013 finals series, which Brisbane didn’t qualify for, has Queensland suffered such a poor finish to the NRL season.
Queensland was the king of the NRL in 2015 after the Broncos and Cowboys fought out one of the greatest grand finals in the game’s history.
The Broncos made last year’s preliminary finals while North Queensland went on a fairytale run all the way to the grand final. But the Maroons’ three-year Origin winning streak ended this year with a 2-1 loss while the Cowboys (13th), Titans (14th) and Broncos (sixth) had below-par seasons.
Strong Queensland clubs led to a solid stream of Maroons players and “The King” Lewis said the state’s NRL struggles could flow into the Origin arena next year.
“The best placed side getting knocked out in week one of the finals is definitely a cause for concern,” he said.
“These things come along every now and then.”
The Cowboys never really got going in Johnathan Thurston’s final season and were in wooden spoon contention before finding some form in the last month.
The Gold Coast showed some glimpses of improvement but were ultimately a long way off clinching their first finals appearance since 2016.
The Broncos were never in the top four at any stage throughout the season, but won their last three games to secure a home final.
However Brisbane’s premiership tilt came to a grinding halt when they were blown away by the Dragons at Suncorp Stadium to lose a knockout final by 30 points for the second straight year.
The Broncos are stuck in the longest premiership drought in the club’s history, having last won a title in 2006. Lewis said the drama surrounding coach Wayne Bennett’s future was affecting the club.
“Is the coach going to stay? Is he going to go?” he said. “It’s (12-year premiership drought) not a period I expected to see.
The Cowboys made seven straight appearances in the finals, including grand finals in 2015 and 2017, before this year’s fadeout.
Lewis said it would take time for North Queensland to overcome the loss of Thurston.
“The Cowboys are going into life without Thurston and it will certainly take them some time,” he said.
“But they have got Michael Morgan.”
Winger Macdonald could feel the lift in intensity and desire from the outset as the Dragons defied injuries to Graham (concussion), Jack de Belin (ankle) and Gareth Widdop (shoulder) to keep their season alive.
St George Illawarra was written off by experts after winning just three of its last nine games, all against bottom eight opposition, before shocking the Broncos.
“We always had it in us but the last few weeks heading into finals we really made it difficult for ourselves,” Macdonald said.
“We turned over possession too easy and the forwards were doing too much work.
“We always thought if we could get back to playing how we were at the start of the year, where we were pretty much unstoppable, we can do something amazing in the finals.”
Macdonald, who joined the Dragons last year after previous stints with the Roosters and Titans, has been one of the club’s most consistent performers this year.
He is averaging 136 metres per game and his finishing ability has yielded ten tries.
“I was hoping for an injuryfree season and to play my best footy. Playing the finals was a big goal,” Macdonald said.
WEEK TWO FINALS