Titans, Broncos battle to avoid 0-3 NRLW start
A FRACTURED cheekbone coupled with a positive Covid test forced Julia Robinson to watch the inaugural NRLW Queensland derby between Brisbane and Gold Coast from the couch last season.
Wild horses couldn’t keep her away this time around.
And the Broncos will need their star winger at full flight if they are to flip the script on a season that is very quickly spiralling out of control.
The Broncos finished second and the Titans third last season, but after two rounds of action neither has a win on the board this time out.
It adds an extra layer of intrigue to Saturday’s showdown at Moreton Daily Stadium, with the loser dropping to 0-3 and probably already out of the finals race.
“Obviously we haven’t started the best, losing both games so far,” Robinson said.
“The Titans I feel performed very well against the Knights last week so they’re a team we can’t be too complacent about. It’s going to be a very tough battle between the two Queensland teams.”
Robinson said the Broncos would use the Sydney Roosters’ example from last season, when they dropped their opening two games before going on to win the premiership, as proof that the campaign is far from over. But the Broncos’ misfires have been concerning and Robinson said the team needed to “relax a bit more” after mounting pressure to regain its title from the Roosters.
“Since we were the team that won three premierships in a row, we hadn’t lost against many teams before and we did feel that pressure,” she said.
“But I feel we don’t have that pressure on us anymore and we can just focus on ourselves. Obviously it’s a bit disappointing being at the other end of the stick this season but we definitely have the team to excel throughout the season.”