Gritty Broncos counting cost of 'brave' win over Raiders
Kevin Walters says Brisbane’s gritty defeat of Canberra rates among the bravest he’s seen as a five-time premiership player at the club, let alone in his two seasons as coach.
An injury-ravaged Broncos held on for a seventh straight NRL win, 24-18 on Saturday, keeping the Raiders scoreless in the second half despite finishing without any fit men on the bench.
It came despite injuries to Payne Haas, Adam Reynolds, Herbie Farnworth and livewire five-eighth Ezra Mam, while Cory Paix (knee), Te Maire Martin (ribs) and Corey Oates (hand) also finished the game with issues.
Also without rested State of Origin trio Selwyn Cobbo, Kurt Capewell and Kotoni Staggs, Brisbane trailed 18-16 at halftime but edged ahead before scrambling to a famous win.
“Certainly (among the bravest wins), even in my time here as a player and on the staff here,” Walters said.
Reynolds (ribs) didn’t finish the game in his comeback from a groin injury but is hopeful of returning next week to face Melbourne, while Farnworth (bicep) could miss the rest of the season and is in doubt for England’s World Cup charge.
Paix could also miss a chunk if scans reveal an MCL tear suffered in the final play of the game, while Haas had earlier hurt the AC joint in his right shoulder after battling the same issue in his other arm already this season.
It’s hoped his issue isn’t too serious, however it leaves the powerhouse prop carrying niggles in both shoulders ahead of State of Origin II on June 26.
Mam’s exit after a head knock with one minute to play left Brisbane without a man on the bench, but the Raiders coughed up possession immediately to let them off the hook.
Brisbane were 2-4 and trailing Canterbury at halftime in what was effectively a battle to avoid last spot, but have won seven straight for the first time since 2015 to sit inside the top four.
“With this group I could smell from the start of the year and after Christmas that some good things could happen for us,” Walters said.
“They’ve fought back (from 2-4) and I’m really happy with where we are; seven in a row is great but we haven’t really won anything yet.”
Brenko Lee and Jordan Pereira both stepped up in their club debuts and Tom Flegler (168 run metres) was massive alongside relentless Queensland debutant Pat Carrigan (159m, 44 tackles).
Joseph Tapine (209m) and Cory Horsburgh (173m) were explosive for the Raiders while NSW centre Jack Wighton was dangerous in backing up from Wednesday night’s loss but lacked opportunities to find the killer blow.
The Raiders led 18-16 after a tit-for-tat first half, the sides trading tries and highlights.
Canberra coach Ricky Stuart refused to be critical of his side’s inability to land a killer blow, instead lamenting that “they played without a bit of luck”.
“No (I didn’t feel like it was ours for the taking); it doesn’t matter who goes off, (they were) not on the ropes,” he said.
“A couple of silly errors, just trying too hard but we’ve been there before, played games with 11 men.
“Kevin’s building a really good squad here and shown that culture comes before strategy.”
Comments on RugbyPass
ABs lost against a side playing without a hooker - The guy playing, had one shoulder. Line outs were a gimme for the ABs, and the last 8 minutes 14 played 14 against a team that had been smashed 3 weeks in a row… Yet with all that possession, with all that territory, with all the advantages they actually had, especially in the last 8 minutes, they couldn’t buy a point. Those last 8 minutes determined if they outplayed the Boks or not. History will show that the Boks completely outplayed the ABs, especially in those last 8 minutes, the business end of any rugby match
225 Go to commentsWould’ve, could’ve, should’ve, didn’t.
225 Go to commentsKok will become a fan favourite
1 Go to commentsI am really looking forward to Leigh Halfpenny playing his first Super rugby game for the Crusaders Playing a long side his former Welsh and Scarlets team mate Johnny McNicoll.Johnny has been playing great, back in a Crusaders jersey.The attack has strengthened big time. Also looking forward to David Havili at 10. David is a class act, it also allows Dallas McLeod to remain at 12. A good thing.
1 Go to commentsIf he had stopped insisting on playing in the backrow, instead of wing, where everyone told him he should, he would have been a Bok years ago….
11 Go to comments‘Salads don’t win scrums’ 😂 I love that.
19 Go to commentsCan’t wait for the article that talks about misogyny in Ireland. Somehow.
16 Go to commentsI would like to see a rule change, when the attacking team is held up over the try line, by allowing the defensive team to restart a goal line drop out releases the pressure for the defensive team, but what if the attacking team had to restart a tap 5m out from the defensive team it gives the attacking team to apply more pressure, there are endless options for the attacking side and it will keep the fans in suspence.
2 Go to commentsLess modern South African males predictably triggered.
16 Go to commentsMy heart is with Quins, but the head is convinced Toulouse have too much. Ntamack is back, his timing and wisdom has been missed.
1 Go to commentsWow, what a starting line up for the Sharks) Tasty up front,kremer vs Tshituka or venter …fiery ,,Lavannini ,,will he knobble etzebeth? Biggest game for belleau?
1 Go to commentsIt was rubbish to watch, Blues weren’t even present. Did what they had to do, nothing more. Should be better next week against canes.
1 Go to commentsI’ve just noticed that this match has an all-French refereeing team. Surely a game like this ought to have a neutral ref? Although looking at the BBC preview of the Saints game, Raynal is also down as reffing that - so there may be some confusion about who is reffing what.
1 Go to commentsIf Havili can play anywhere in the back line, why not first 5. #10.
11 Go to commentsThe dressing room had already left for their summer break before they ran out in Dublin that year, and that’s on the coach. Franco Smith has undoubtedly made progress, particularly their maul, developing squad players and increasing squad depth. And against a very tight budget too. That said they were too lightweight last year and got found out against both Toulon and Munster in consecutive games. Better this season so far but they’ve developed something of a slow start habit occasionally, most notably losing at home to Northampton who played them at their own game. Play offs will ultimately show whether there has been tangible progress on last year, or not…!
2 Go to commentsAustralian Rugby has been a disaster, by not incorporating learning from previous successful campaigns. QLD Reds 2011 - Waratahs 2014. Players, coaches and administrators appoint there representatives for scheduled meetings, organisation’s agreement’s assessments and correspondence. This why a unified Rugby Union under one entity works. Every Rugby nation has taken that path. Was most difficult in the Northern hemisphere with over 100 years of club rugby before the game become professional. Took a lot of humility for those unions to eventually work together.
7 Go to commentsThough Wilson’s sacking was pretty brutal, it wasn’t just down to that Leinster game; Glasgow had a lot of 2nd half collapses that season, in the URC and Europe, and only just scraped into the playoffs. Franco Smith has definitely been an improvement, some players are delivering far more than they did under Wilson.
2 Go to commentsjesus - that front 5!
1 Go to commentsShould be an absolute cracker of a game! Will be great to see DuPont & Ntamack in tandem once again🔥
1 Go to commentsBest team ever…. To have played? These guys are still pressure chokers. Came nowhere when it counted. What a joke
84 Go to comments