The Broncos will start this home game, cunningly disguised as an away game, with great momentum. Suncorp will be packed and Kotoni Staggs will return to the starting lineup after his hip flexor injury, replacing Deine Mariner who has a night in the reserves. Payne Haas looked brutal against the Cowboys last week. The Cowboys defence didn’t seem to be too keen to get in his way for the crucial break that led to his late try.
Reece Walsh appears to have plenty of upside scope, a few errors last week coupled with flashes of brilliance. Adam Reynolds and Ben Hunt running the game efficiently when it mattered. It wasn’t a flashy Broncos win but they did enough to resign a struggling Cowboys outfit to a winless 0-3 record.
That’s where the Dolphins currently sit, winless 0-3. They will be desperate to inflict a wound to the title chasing Broncos. They put out the same starting lineup as lost to the Wests Tigers last week.
The Broncos should be motivated by the 40-6 hammering they suffered from The Hammer and co last season at Suncorp.
Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf will be looking for an “Originesque Start” to the game as the Dolphins have yet to break the 20-point mark this season, 14 points against the Rabbits and 12 against the Knights, followed by 18 against the Wests Tigers, is slim pickings in attack, against a Broncos team with so many attacking options.
Madge Maguire’s men have not fully hit their straps yet. The Cowboys game saw the visitors run more metres than the Broncos, and frankly the game was closer than it should have been.
Yet to have started with a 2-1 win/loss record puts them in a strong position with Wests Tigers at home next week and the Roosters at home the following week.
Broncos fans will be looking for a big first half in defence, and for their huge weaponry to build attacking dominance as the game goes on.
Indigenous Round brings a great opportunity for the Broncos to maintain their winning run, having brought home the bacon in their last two games. The bookies now make them the second favourites behind the Panthers to win the Telstra Premiership this year, despite the loss of Adam Reynolds until round 22, after Jock Madden’s winning field goal.
Payne Haas will start, after his strange injury against the Sea Eagles which turned out to be caused by a knee in the back of his calf triggering a big toe nerve injury.
Reece Walsh and Billy Walters return, Kotoni Staggs is ruled out with a fractured first rib that he picked up against the Sea Eagles last week.
Will David Fifita’s extraordinary back-flip on his move to the Roosters impact his form?
The game against the Titans will be a great opportunity for the younger Broncos to step up and fill the spots during the Origin series which starts on June 5.
The Titans have struggled to put a full game together all season, hence their 2 wins and 8 losses record has them in wooden spoon territory, but Joe Stimson and Kieran Foran return into the starting line up.
The Broncos currently sit 5th, the Titans are 16th
Sad news this week that Broncos assistant coach, John Cartwright, will be leaving for pastures new at the end of the season. Cartwright joined the Broncos when Kevvie Walters took the head coach job for the 2021 season, his new role will be Head Coach at Hull FC in the 2025 Super League.
