Broncos forwards must deliver in Queensland derby against Cowboys

GORDEN TALLIS: IF Brisbane is any chance of beating their great rivals from North Queensland in Friday’s derby, it is their forward pack that needs to step up.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — MARCH 08: Matthew Lodge of the Broncos looks on during the round one NRL match between the St George Illawarra Dragons and the Brisbane Broncos at UOW Jubilee Oval on March 8, 2018 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

THE challenge has already been set for the Broncos ahead of this Friday’s derby clash with the Cowboys.

The big men have to deliver.

If Brisbane is any chance of beating their great rivals from North Queensland, it is their forward pack that needs to step up.

A lot has been said about the Broncos’ loss to the Dragons on Thursday night.

It wasn’t pretty and their handling let them down. But they are the Broncos.

They can turn this around and they will have to turn it around against Paul Green’s men.

I would say the Cowboys weren’t at their best either against the Sharks on Friday night.

They were a little clunky and made a few too many mistakes.

The difference however was, even with all their errors and the dusting off of the cobwebs, you could see North Queensland’s potential.

INJURY: Cowboys to unleash Morgan

Jason Taumalolo against the Sharks. Picture: Evan Morgan

They will be hard to beat this year and that will mostly be because of their forward pack.

It’s the best balanced pack I’ve seen for a long time.

Matt Scott is equal to any front rower that has pulled on an NRL jersey before him while Jordan McLean is a great acquisition.

That pair will take a lot of energy out of you as an opposition player as they are hard to bring down and are ruthless in defence.

Then you have the two guys on the edge that do everything so right in Ethan Lowe and Gavin Cooper, not to mention what happens off the bench.

The way someone like Coen Hess can turn a match or the energy Scott Bolton can bring, those are the players that will make a difference for the Cowboys this year.

And of course, you have the wrecking ball Jason Taumalolo who can do absolutely everything.

The scary thing is, you generally don’t get the best out of your forward pack until they run into match fitness, so we’re not going to see these guys hit top form until after about a month of footy.

The Cowboys will beat a lot of teams up the middle this year.

And that is what the Broncos have to be particularly worried about come Friday.

Matthew Lodge in action the Dragons.

Matt Lodge was the only Brisbane forward to make over 100m on Thursday night.

It took Taumalolo 40 minutes to do the same on Friday.

It’s going to be a massive turnaround for the Broncos pack to match the Cowboys.

It’s not to say Brisbane can’t do it, because these two teams always bring out the best in each other.

But the Cowboys’ big men are some of the best in the competition and they also have a whole week to improve.

It’s going to be another Suncorp Stadium blockbuster.

***

THERE has been a lot of talk about the Titans for the last six months, from the Jarryd Hayne saga to the signing of a new coach to the arrival of Bryce Cartwright.

But finally the Gold Coast will be able to turn words into actions.

They should be looking to Newcastle for some inspiration. The way the Knights performed on Friday night gave the competition a lot of hope.

We are talking about the side that came last in 2017 but they hung in there for 88 minutes to claim a victory against a team that last year played finals footy.

Let’s hope the Titans can impress today as well.

Originally published as Broncos forwards must deliver in Queensland derby against Cowboys