Broncos real deal if they beat Eels

BRISBANE legend Steve Renouf says the Broncos can start thinking about a premiership assault if they beat Parramatta in Sydney on Thursday night.

The Broncos can just about lock up a finals berth with a win over the Eels at CommBank Stadium but coach Kevin Walters has made his premiership intentions clear.

No team has won the premiership from outside the top four in the NRL era and with a freefalling Melbourne Storm ready to be overtaken, Renouf said the time was ripe for the fifth-placed Broncos to put their post-season destiny in their own hands.

“If they pull this one off against the Eels I think they’re pretty well set,” Renouf said.

“I think this would be the game (Walters) is marking himself on. I love the way they have gone about it the last couple of weeks without all of those players. He has the boys in the right frame of mind.

“These are the games where they get to see where they are really at.”

A win over the Eels would heap huge pressure on the Storm, which has lost its past three matches and also star fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen to a season-ending knee injury in the loss to Canberra.

While finals rivals Melbourne, Cronulla and the Roosters all took significant injury hits over the weekend, the Broncos are set to welcome back four topline talents on Thursday, having successfully navigated a tricky two-week stretch with a skeleton squad.

Maroons trio Patrick Carrigan, Corey Oates and Kurt Capewell will return, as will boom prop Corey Jensen, who has missed the past two games with a calf complaint.

Payne Haas is facing a race against the clock to recover from a shoulder injury in time for Thursday night, while Walters has already ruled out Selwyn Cobbo, who was heavily concussed early in Origin III.

The winner of Thursday night’s game could be in the top four at the end of the round if the Storm’s losing streak stretches to four when it faces the Rabbitohs on Saturday.

Regardless, Renouf believes Walters has done the right thing by putting premiership talk on the agenda, even though the Broncos have not played in the finals since 2018.

“Kevvie could just relax and say, ‘well, we’ve had a successful season and I’m good’, but he’s pushing the boys by (mentioning a premiership) and that’s a good thing,” Renouf said. “It puts them under a bit of pressure, it’s great incentive for them.

“I think how Kevvie is talking and thinking is a good thing.”

It’s an incredible turnaround for a club that this time last year was 15th on the ladder and Walters’ coaching ability was repeatedly being called into question.