Broncos humbled by rival’s Origin ‘flex’ as key man’s shock exit bites
Brisbane’s dire form in the NRL will be highlighted next Tuesday when Billy Slater unveils his Queensland team for the second State of Origin game.
An injury to gun forward Patrick Carrigan means the Broncos face the very real probability of not having a single player represent the Maroons at the MCG on June 17.
Broncos players Adam Reynolds and Patrick Carrigan react during a loss. Getty
Carrigan was the sole Bronco who made it onto the field for Queensland during last week’s 22-20 loss to New South Wales in Sydney.
His club teammates Gehemat Shibasaki and Ezra Mam were also named in Slater’s 19-man game day squad, but neither were used during the game.
Shibasaki was also injured during Sunday’s loss to the Dragons, while Mam has been axed by Broncos coach Michael Maguire in a brutal statement ahead of this week’s derby against Gold Coast.
If all three players drop out of the squad and no other Broncos come in to replace them, the proud Red Hill club won’t have a single player enter Maroons camp next week. South of the border, Payne Haas and Kotoni Staggs will fly the club’s flag in Blues camp.
The pill will be made all the more bitter by the number of Dolphins players likely to be picked in Slater’s squad.
Selwyn Cobbo, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Tom Flegler, and Max Plath are all expected to retain their spots, while Dolphins teammate Tom Gilbert could come in as a Carrigan replacement and make it five representatives from the team that only entered the NRL in 2023.
“What a flex by the Dolphins, having more players in that Queensland squad than the Broncos,” Brisbane and Maroons great Sam Thaiday said on Wide World of Sports’ QLDER.
“(Dolphins CEO) Terry Reader is just sitting back loving it sick at the moment isn’t he?”
What might be a momentous occasion for the Redcliffe club will be a sickening reality for those on the other side of the river city.
The Broncos have fallen off a cliff for the second time this year and are on a four-game losing streak, tumbling to 11th spot on the competition ladder just eight months after winning the NRL premiership.
A 30-26 loss to the lowly Dragons at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday elicited a fierce response from coach Maguire, both in the sheds after the game and at the selection table on Tuesday.
Thaiday can see exactly what the issue is.
“The Dragons ran harder, they rolled down the field... it’s sad to say, but the Broncos at the end of the day, you toss that up and that’s what happens,” he said.
“There’s certain areas in the game I’m watching this year that I didn’t see last year, when they were pushing hard and becoming the premiers, we were fighting in every game we were in.
“At the start of that game (on Sunday) there was a lack of energy and effort. I’m really struggling to see this season at all where we’ve had an 80-minute effort.
“They definitely have got a great squad there, they can definitely win games, and that’s why I’m not worried. The only thing I’m worried about is can they bring that energy and effort week in, week out when you are the hunted?”
The team’s drop in form has coincided with a brutal injury toll, but also comes after Ben Te’o quit as assistant coach in March following a stoush with Maguire.
Te’o was working with the defence and in recent weeks the Broncos are conceding 35 points per game on average.
Ironically, Te’o is now working with Slater’s Queensland team.
QLDER host Adam Jackson believes the Te’o departure is behind the team’s form slump, and Thaiday agrees it could be a factor.
“I remember back in the day when we had Wayne Bennett (coaching us), our magic number was 16. We knew we had 16 points in us and we could always come back (to win), so it didn’t matter if it was 16-0 (against us) at half time,” Thaiday said.
“We just really struggled (against the Dragons on Sunday) and there are things the club needs to work on. Are the players tired? Are they coming back early from injury? I have no idea, I’m really unsure.
“I know there is still some good football in the Broncos and I hope we see it soon.”
The embattled Broncos face the Titans and Rabbitohs before another bye in round 16.
