Kotoni Staggs injury opens door for Xavier Coates to play final game in Broncos colours
Xavier Coates hasn’t played since Round 15 but the season-ending injury to Kotoni Staggs has opened the door for the Maroons winger to make a return for Brisbane.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Xavier Coates will come back into contention for a Broncos back line spot following the loss of Brisbane strike centre Kotoni Staggs.
Coates has been on the outer at the Broncos since signing with the Melbourne Storm, having not played an NRL game since Round 15 against the Rabbitohs more than a month ago.
Watch The 2021 NRL Telstra Premiership Live & On-Demand on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-Days Free Now >
Broncos coach Kevin Walters also has the likes of outside backs Jesse Arthars and David Mead at his disposal to replace Staggs – who was on Saturday confirmed to miss the remainder of the season after suffering an MCL injury during the club’s win over the Cowboys.
Walters confirmed Coates was in the frame for selection, however with little game time under his belt, the Queensland Origin winger faces an uncertain short-term future.
The 20-year-old was supposed to play for Norths Devils on Saturday afternoon, however the snap Brisbane lockdown forced that match to be cancelled.
Walters said Coates still had an opportunity to play in the Broncos colours before the end of the season.
“It was a good performance tonight (against the Cowboys) but Xavier can add value to our team,” Walters said.
“We need to get him a game at some stage because we love the big fella, it’s tough for him at the moment.
“He will get his opportunity, I’m not sure when that is, it could be this week, but he will get his opportunity.”
Brisbane re-claimed the XXXX Queensland Derby trophy with a 37-18 win over the Cowboys on Friday night, to notch up their fifth win of the season.
The win takes Brisbane three wins clear of the bottom-placed Bulldogs, however with five games still left to play in the regular season, Walters wasn’t prepared to celebrate having offloaded the wooden spoon.
“That spoon is never far away, steady on,” he said.
“Xavier Willison made his debut and we have debuted four kids – Xavier, TC Robati and a couple of others.
“That’s the plan we have in place, to get something out of the next five games and I believe we can with the group we have.
“It was a nice win tonight and very enjoyable, a winning dressing room is a great dressing room.
“We haven’t had many this year but it was nice to have that winning feeling. You can’t beat it.”
BRONCOS STAR’S INJURY CURSE STRIKE AGAIN
The Broncos have suffered another crushing injury blow with strike centre Kotoni Staggs set to miss the rest of the NRL season.
Staggs’ injury curse has continued with Brisbane’s most lethal outside back facing up to six weeks on the sidelines after hurting his knee in the Broncos’ 37-18 derby defeat of the Cowboys on Friday night.
In just his fourth game back from a knee reconstruction, Staggs’ brilliant two-try haul was tempered by the news he suffered high-grade damage to his medial ligament.
But there is a silver lining, with scans showing Staggs’ reconstructed ACL on the same knee remains intact, easing concerns the Broncos ace was facing another extended stint on the sidelines.
Staggs has been outstanding since his return from a knee reconstruction, having scored three tries in four games and showing he has lost none of the speed and power that propelled into NSW Origin contention last year.
The 22-year-old may yet return this season, but with just five rounds left to play, Broncos medicos are likely to place Staggs in cotton wool to ensure he is fit and firing for Brisbane’s 2022 pre-season.
While Staggs’ campaign could be prematurely over for the second consecutive year, there was positive news on teammate Jake Turpin, who could return this season from the nasty ankle injury he suffered against the Cowboys.
Brisbane performance chief Dave Ballard said while Staggs is unlikely to play again this year, there is hope of Turpin making a swift return.
“Jake picked up a high ankle sprain which will mean a few weeks of rehab but he is a chance to play again this season,” he said.
“Kotoni has a high-grade MCL injury after suffering an impact to the knee in a tackle in the second half, and he is unlikely to return to play for the remainder of the season.
“It’s the same knee that he injured last year but it’s important to be clear that his ACL is fine and the injury is localised to his MCL. We expect it to be a straight-forward recovery over coming weeks and Kotoni is keen to get into his rehab as soon as he can.”
BRONCOS CRUSH COWBOYS’ FINALS HOPES
The Broncos all-but shattered the Cowboys’ slim finals hopes with a thumping 37-18 victory in the Queensland derby on Friday night.
Before 29,136 at Suncorp Stadium, this was not the top-of-the-table derby magic of past seasons but it was equally desperate as the 15th-placed Broncos moved a step closer to offloading the wooden spoon to the bumbling Bulldogs.
A superb back-row display from Jordan Riki and a two-try haul from strike centre Kotoni Staggs headlined Brisbane’s fifth win of the season, moving the Broncos three wins clear of last-placed Canterbury.
In the process, the Broncos almost certainly delivered the bullet to the playoff hopes of 2015 grand-final nemesis the Cowboys, who must win all final five games for an unlikely finals miracle.
Brisbane were easily the better team, belting the Cowboys in midfield, but their sweet derby triumph was soured by the sight of Jake Turpin’s sickening ankle injury in the 42nd minute after he helped the hosts to a 22-12 halftime lead.
RAMPAGING RIKI
Riki underlined his back-row potential, tearing the Cowboys apart on the edges in the finest performance of his burgeoning career.
The 21-year-old is still raw and has been exposed in defence this season, but in attack the Kiwi forward gave Scott Drinkwater nightmares. Riki busted the line in the 35th minute for Brodie Croft’s try and sealed victory in the dying minutes when he swooped on a Tyson Gamble kick.
“Jordy has a lot of ability for a young back-rower and we haven’t seen the best of him,” Walters said. “You can’t coach the stuff he does, he is a very powerful athlete.”
DEAR OH DEARDEN
Tom Dearden’s horrendous losing streak as a starting halfback continues.
This was Dearden’s golden chance to stick it to the Broncos club that didn’t want him. Instead, the Cowboys rookie tasted defeat yet again. Since arriving in Townsville, Dearden is 0-7 and he has now lost 22 consecutive matches as a starting halfback.
While Dearden scored in the 26th minute, he never really asserted scrumbase control as the Broncos won the midfield.
Cowboys coach Todd Payten conceded his side’s finals hopes were effectively shot, lamenting their lack of mental toughness in the middle.
“The most disappointing part is we were coming off six losses and playing like that in a Queensland derby,” he said.
“The Broncos were running harder, pushing around the ball and fighting for it more. They made more tough decisions than us.”
CENTRE OF ATTENTION
Broncos coach Kevin Walters has a major tactical decision to make that could shape Staggs’ career.
Should he move Staggs to five-eighth next season to partner Adam Reynolds? Or does he maintain the status quo with arguably the most deadly centre in the league?
On this evidence, Staggs has to stay at right centre. The NSW Origin hopeful gives Brisbane a menacing edge in the three quarters, as evidenced by his second try in the 48th minute when he exploited a short-side rush to crash over in the corner for 28-12.
It was the type of matchwinning play few centres can produce. The Staggs sucker-punch left the Cowboys floundering.
“You can see why a lot of clubs were chasing him,” Walters said. “He has been good for us, he brings a lot of confidence to our side.”
BUNKER BUNGLE
The Cowboys had every reason to explode over the Bunker’s decision to deny Kyle Feldt a 62nd-minute try. Feldt appeared to have grounded the ball winning the race to a Drinkwater grubber, but the Bunker sensationally ruled no try.
Instead of trailing 28-24, the Cowboys’ desperate comeback was put to bed as Brisbane charged home in the final quarter.
Fox Sports Commentators Dan Ginnane and Greg Alexander were stunned by the decision, after hearing that the try was confirmed, before being reviews again despite being sent up as a try.
“It hurt us,” Payten said. “I was sitting in the box dumbfounded, but the call was made and we have to move on.”
REVEALED: DEARDEN’S 798-DAY DROUGHT
—Peter Badel & Travis Meyn
Penrith playmaking great Greg Alexander has challenged Tom Dearden to prove he is a genuine NRL matchwinner as it emerged the former Bronco has lost a staggering 21 consecutive matches as a starting halfback.
Dearden faces one of the biggest tests of his career when the Cowboys’ mid-season recruit confronts the Broncos club that went cold on him in Friday night’s Queensland derby at Suncorp Stadium.
When Dearden runs onto his former home turf at Suncorp Stadium, he will carry the burden of one of the most disturbing playmaking statistics in NRL history.
Rated a future superstar by many NRL pundits, including former Cowboys champion playmaker Johnathan Thurston, Dearden has not tasted victory as a starting halfback in more than two years.
That’s a 798-day losing streak as a starting playmaker. He last celebrated victory as a chief shot-caller on May 25, 2019, when Dearden steered the Broncos to an 8-2 triumph over the Warriors.
Since moving to the Cowboys in June, Dearden has lost six consecutive games.
Now Dearden will wear the North Queensland No.7 jumper at Suncorp tasked with exacting revenge on the Broncos and avoiding his 22nd consecutive failure as a scrumbase starter.
If anyone can empathise with the mounting pressure on the 20-year-old Dearden, it is Panthers legend Alexander.
Like Dearden, Alexander was a teenager when he made his first-grade debut - he was 19 when he faced Manly in 1984 - and ‘Brandy’ implored the Cowboys recruit to back himself in his Broncos baptism.
“I believe the ability is in there somewhere with Tom, it just has to be unlocked,” said Alexander, the Dally M rookie of the year in 1984.
“There’s no doubt his confidence has taken a knock from all those losses.
“The fact he hasn’t won a game for so long affects your self-belief and losing can become a habit.
“It would be hard on Tom to be going through all those losses and that has to be taken into account assessing him as a young playmaker.
“I always look at a young halfback and see what his involvement is apart from the set pieces that most teams do. I look to see if any young halves have any intuition and whether they can get over the advantage line and attack a retreating defence.
“I’m yet to see that from Tom. At the moment, it’s all about process and being in the right spot and him passing to the right person, but I’d love to see him play some footy.”
The free fall of Dearden at the Broncos is one of the NRL’s great mysteries.
Such was his talent in the Broncos Elite Player Development system, Brisbane scouts believed Dearden would be a 15-year NRL halfback.
After working with him at a Queensland Emerging Origin camp five years ago, Thurston agreed Dearden had the goods.
Former Broncos coach Anthony Seibold gave Dearden his NRL debut against Souths in 2019. At just 18, Dearden won three of his first four NRL games, including a superb display to engineer a 15-10 boilover of defending premiers the Roosters.
Then, the wheels fell off.
Dearden lost his next 15 games as Brisbane’s starting halfback. With Dearden off-contract this season, Broncos coach Kevin Walters kept waiting for a magical performance, but each loss compounded the riddle. Walters wasn’t convinced Dearden was the golden boy who would deliver a Broncos premiership and rubber-stamped his early release to the Cowboys.
So when Dearden runs onto Suncorp on Friday night, here are the burning questions - is he really up to it? Did Walters get it wrong? Will he make the Broncos pay? Have the Cowboys gambled on the wrong bloke?
Even Alexander can’t make sense of the Dearden riddle.
“It’s hard to get a definitive read on Tom,” he said.
“Having played in a side where Brisbane struggled and he was in and out, he has gone to the Cowboys and their form has slipped while he has been there.
“Unfortunately, North Queensland’s dip has coincided with Tom’s move there, but it’s got nothing to do with Tom.
“I feel for Tom to a degree, he’s gone from a struggling side at the Broncos to a Cowboys side that has also forgotten how to win.
“In terms of Tom and his long-term future in the NRL, I am a bit unsure about him.
“He looks like a decent runner when he finds himself a bit of space, but there are parts of his game that need continual work.
“The Broncos and Cowboys have been looking for a playmaker to take control when the game is in the balance.
“You want your halfback on the ball and that’s a huge part of a half-back’s game.
“Ability as a young player and being an Australian Schoolboy or a Queensland under-20s player ... it doesn’t always equate to being a successful NRL player.
“We have seen a lot of blokes who have been schoolboy stars but just couldn’t graduate to the NRL, so that’s the challenge for Tom Dearden.”
Broncos development chief Simon Scanlan, who played a key role in Dearden’s emergence at Red Hill, is adamant the snowy-haired playmaker is the real deal.
“I only have good things to say about Tom,” he said.
“I saw him come through our system and he is the ultimate competitor.
“He is just a ferocious competitor and, as a halfback, he brings back-rowers and centres into the game well.
“He is a lovely kid who has an excellent training attitude. Tommy played NRL very early as an 18-year-old and he’s had some tough losses, but I’d love to see him kick on.”
Cowboys halves partner Scott Drinkwater is adamant Dearden will get the statistical gorilla off his back.
“I believe he can make it in the NRL long-term, 100 per cent,” he said.
“He came into the NRL as an 18-year-old and that was a huge ask. If I came into the NRL at 18, I don’t think I’d be playing in the league anymore.
“Tom has been good for us. He is a really competitive guy, each week he runs the most kilometres out of anyone in our team, so that shows how much work he does off the ball.
“People are saying he hasn’t won a game but he’s still only 20, we can’t expect Tom to light the world up every week.
“There’s only a few individuals that can come into the NRL as an 18 or 19-year-old kid and kill it.”
REVEALED: BRONCOS SPLIT ON MONSTER DEAL FOR HAAS
Payne Haas’ lifetime deal at the Broncos is in jeopardy with Brisbane’s board baulking at a proposed 10-year, $10 million contract for the NSW Origin enforcer.
News Corp can reveal Broncos board members have privately expressed concerns about signing Haas until the end of 2031 as the front-row sensation prepares for Friday night’s derby against the Cowboys at Suncorp Stadium.
Haas’ management earlier this month tabled a proposal to Broncos chief executive Dave Donaghy for Haas to receive a decade-long upgrade that would represent the biggest deal in Brisbane’s 33-year history.
Such was the magnitude of the contract request, the matter has been passed on to Brisbane’s board, who are due to formally meet to discuss rubberstamping a deal that would make Haas a Bronco for life.
But the Haas upgrade has hit a stumbling block with some of Brisbane’s executive arm expressing reservations about following the lead of the Cowboys, who signed Jason Taumalolo to a 10-year deal in 2017.
Taumalolo will square off against Haas on Friday night having attracted criticism over his consistency since becoming North Queensland’s $10m man on a deal that expires in 2027.
Haas’ management have been in negotiations with Donaghy and Brisbane football boss Ben Ikin, who says the 21-year-old’s contractual fate ultimately rests with the Broncos board headed by chairman Karl Morris.
“There is a board meeting coming up early next month, so for a contract of that size (10 years), it would get elevated to board level,” Ikin said. “There is no rush for us really.
“Payne is contracted until the end of 2024 so there is no time pressure (to formalise an upgrade), it has to go to the appropriate levels and the board will make a decision on that.”
Morris declined to comment but it is understood the Broncos board would prefer a five-year arrangement encompassing Haas’ existing deal, which has another three years to run.
That scenario would see Haas remain at Red Hill until the end of 2026 on a potential salary of $1 million annually, which would still represent one of the richest contracts in the NRL for a forward.
Taumalolo doesn’t see his own 10-year contract as a burden and believes Haas, who made 190 metres, 14 tackle busts and 36 tackles against Penrith last week, is worth every cent.
“Payne’s obviously worked hard to put himself in a position where he can look after himself financially. That’s great for him,” Taumalolo said.
“He has played some great footy and deserves it (a long-term deal).
“He played well in the Origin series and that’s carried over to his club form.
“It’s always a good game when you’re playing the Broncos and Payne is leading that pack.”
Haas remains unfazed by plans for him to sign a club-record Broncos deal.
“With the contract stuff, I leave it to my manager and I‘ll keep playing footy,” he said.
“It’s hard to say (if he will be a Bronco for life).
“I would love to stay at one club for the whole of my career but in rugby league, it’s a business and you never know what can happen.
“I‘m sure that contract stuff will be taken care of ... we’ll see what happens.”
More Coverage
Originally published as Kotoni Staggs injury opens door for Xavier Coates to play final game in Broncos colours
‘Blowhard’: Cornes backlash turns prickly
Kane Cornes has been roasted by a high profile colleague over comments that have left NRL commentators in disbelief.
Parramatta legend: ‘24 Panthers don’t have a hope against ‘83 Eels
Penrith have claimed their place in the rugby league record books, but Parramatta great Ray Price has rejected suggestions they’ve gone past his Eels, claiming they had “every position and we every tactic covered”. WHO IS BETTER? VOTE NOW.