Review - Broncos game

[Bomber]

I remember last year after each game there was a bit of a review - usually in the teams thread, but sometimes as a seperate thread - with us all having our two cents worth. So, here's my thoughts..

What worked

Everything. More specifically, the boys looked in really good form and knew their combinations inside out. Even if the Broncos were in poor form, we didn't take our foot off the accelerator until it was 36-0. A very satisfying victory.

What didn't work

Firman seemed nervous, and by the standards of the rest of the team, had a poor game - although in fairness it was possibly one of his better games for the club. Several times his kicks found the Broncos on the full, and another went into touch on the full. But the bloke deserves the benefit of the doubt.

Positives

- The Thurston-Payne-Bowen axis. First class stuff, and simply exhilirating to watch.

- Matthew Scott. Say no more. The kid is a gun and deserves his spot in the 17.

- Neil Sweeney had a good game, although I thought the Broncos would have attacked his side far more than they did.

- Jake Lillyman was very reliable, and Southern was very good as well when he came on, with some very good hits.

Watch This Space

- O'Donnell didn't set the world on fire with his early, wide runs but showed improvement as the game went on.

- Ty Williams did well in the centres, but could do with a tackling buddy.

- The ball control (particuarly the offloads), whilst very good against the Mules, could be our downfall in future as not every pass will stick. Sometimes it's better for Tronc and Sarge to just take the ball to ground rather than try a miracle offload every single hitup.

- The dummy half intensity slightly dropped when Faiumu came on. Additionally, DF tried to burrow over from dummy half on multiple occasions, mainly in the first half. Yes, it's worked a few times for him, but he could do better than turn into a one-trick pony.

Food For Thought

Queensland is stuffed come Origin time if last Sunday was any reflection of the future. Muzz had the Broncos all sussed out and the preparation and execution of the players was 100% spot on. From last Sunday's 17, the Cowboys have just Norton, Lillyman, Scott and Tronc in the forwards who are eligible for Maroons selection - Webb makes five, whilst Payne would be very lucky for selection The rest are either Cockaroaches (LOD, Bluey, Sarge) or Kiwis (Faiumu). It's not beyond the realms of possibility that Brisbane will provide the most Qld forwards (Webcke, Civoniceva etc), the same players that Murray and his Cowboys just made a pack of pansies of. And whilst we already know Muzz is a fantastic coach, compared to Big Mal "We've got to ****ing do this" Meninga, GM is a tactical giant.

Anyway, time to sleep.

[TonyP]

Not a bad round up Bomber, but i would take issue with a couple of minor points:

Not everything worked. Our ball handling was o.k. but there's plenty of room for improvement. Having watched the game a couple more times on the Video, we gave the Broncs to many chances to attack our line early on (i.e befor we had scored) a better performing team may well have taken advantage of that. In the second half (admittedly after we had the game wrapped up) he lost our way in several sets of 6. We did do this last year as well, we are sort of a one trick team. If our out & out attack doesnt work we can look very ordinary. We need to use gears 1-3
when necessary. The team leaders out on the paddock need to take control of that and let the guys know when it is time to knuckle down and play the hard grinding stuff.

Firman didn't play well, by comparison. Hopefully it was just first game jitters and he improves over the coming weeks. Both McConnell and the other half in the Guns played well against Toowoomba, and he will be feeling the pressure. Just ask Hannay & Webb!!

Having said all that, the good did out weigh the poor by a wide margin. The pack really stood up to a bigger, better credentialled pack. I had my doubts that we would be as competitive up front with teh loss of a leader like Ra. But if Sarge, Troncy, & Scotty in particular can perform week in week out like they did against the Broncs, we wont miss Ra as much as i thought. The back row i thought was great. I think you are being a bit harsh on LOD. Maybe because he's a Kangaroo now we expect blinders every week. He played a solid game, which if he continues to produce should see him wearing a sky blue jersey before too long. Of course it took him longer to make an impact running out wide. The defence is fresher & more effective at the start of a game!!

Ty did play well in the centres, but was a bit quiet and didn't really go looking for the ball like he usually does from the wing. There wasn't really a lot of play on his side though. Sweeney was as solid as he always is when he gets the call up. I don't know if he's off contract this year, but teh Titans could do worse for wingers then sign him. He deserves a regular first grade position. Maybe we can keep him to replace Singy, given Tybo looks likely to take Bear's centre spot in the long term, with BB taking the other vacant wing position?

I thought our offloads in the forwards were pretty good, with hardly any being forced, at least early on. I like to see a bit of passing between the forwards. Just so long as the guys dont start doing it all the time and realise they are there to make the hard yards first and foremost. Scotty gave a good example of this.

I agree with all the positives you pointed out. I'd add Bear's game to the list as well. Seemed to be one out of the box. Don't know what he did over the offseason but it worked, so far at least. Going on one game, the Qld centres would be Bear & Hodges.

As for SOO selections, I wouldn't get too depressed just yet. The Qld pack will be made up of more then Broncos & Cowboys players. There's Price, Ross, Smith & Crocker to add to the likes of Civenoceiva, Hannant, Tronc, Scott, Carlaw, Webb, Parker, Payne, Norton etc. (BTW Webcke has retired from rep footy)

Here's a very early shot at a SOO team:
1. Lockyer (i know, it'll never happen but it should)
2. Ty Williams
3. Bowman
4. Hodges
5. Slater
6. Thurston
7. Prince
8. Price
9. Smith
10. Civenoceva
11. Crocker
12. Webb
13. Norton

14. Bowen
15. Ross
16. Tronc
17. Lillyman

(actually gets a bit difficult towards the end there...)