Broncos’ top four dream all but over
WARRIORS 26 BRONCOS 6 Warriors: S Kata 2, G Beale, I Luke, A Paasi tries; S Johnson 3 goals Broncos: A McCullough try; J Isaako goal
THE BRONCOS have been left red-faced in their quest for a top-four spot, after they were thumped 26-6 by the Warriors in front of a home crowd yesterday.
It was Brisbane’s first day match at Suncorp Stadium on a Sunday in almost three years, but in front of 37,493 fans they failed to deliver on expectations.
With Tevita Pangai Jr (hamstring) and James Roberts (achilles) missing through injury, the Broncos were unable to make the most of last week’s victory over the Titans, as they struggled to muscle up against a determined Warriors outfit.
The embarrassing loss was compounded by an ankle injury to Jaydn Su’A in the 44th minute and a minor knee problem for Joe Ofahengaue as the final buzzer sounded.
Just last week the Broncos appeared to be finals certainties when they shot into seventh spot on the ladder, with a six-point gap between them and the ninth-placed Raiders.
But yesterday they could only manage one try through Andrew McCullough, who barged past three defenders to plant the ball over the line with five minutes to go.
A week in rugby league can change a lot.
The loss has seen Brisbane slip back into eighth place and their for-and-against plummet to -26, ruining all the hard work from their 34-0 victory over the Titans last week.
Canberra’s victory over the Cowboys has also now seen them move within four points of the top eight, their finals hopes suddenly alive.
The loss should serve as a wake-up call for Brisbane, who need to show a lot more consistency if they are any chance of being a true finals threat.
Coach Wayne Bennett said after the game he hoped that was what the defeat could do for his club, but he said they always seemed to suffer a similar loss at this stage of the season.
He said the week had been disrupted by Origin and injuries and he expected the team to bounce back.
“It’s pretty disappointing,” he said. “They outplayed us, out-enthused us.
“We manage to have one of these games every year … it’s always around this time of year.
“We didn’t have a lot of players in Origin but the whole club is disrupted.”
They went into the match with the top four in their sights, but will now head into next week’s showdown with fourthplaced Penrith doing everything they can to save their season.
The Broncos pride themselves on their defence, but it let them down greatly yesterday.