NRL 2021: Bad habits return to haunt Brisbane Broncos
Despite old habits returning to haunt Brisbane, the club’s best player believes his side can bounce back against Penrith.
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Broncos enforcer Payne Haas has lamented on his side’s “bad habits” following their 42-24 loss to the Tigers but believes Saturday’s clash with Penrith can be the launch pad for a strong finish to the season.
Brisbane gave up an eight point halftime lead to go down to the out-of-form Tigers at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday, in a performance coach Kevin Walters labelled “mentally soft” from some of his players.
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The Broncos missed 26 tackles and made 12 errors on Sunday which allowed the 12th placed Tigers to run riot in an eight-try outing.
It was a demoralising loss for the Broncos who now face the red-hot Panthers on Saturday night in what is a daunting task for the bumbling Brisbane side.
Haas is set to become the generational face of the Broncos with talks of a proposed 10-year, $10 million contract and his individual performance on Sunday proved exactly why the club is prepared to break the bank to keep him at Red Hill.
The Blues representative forward was Brisbane’s best yet again but admitted his effort meant nothing if his side failed to find a win.
“There were just lapses again and our bad habits came back again,” Haas said after the match.
“I’m a bit disappointed at the moment and I don’t know what to say.
“I thought we were the better team in the first half and just had a big lapse there and let the game slip away.
“I can play good all I want but if we’re not getting the results, I don’t really care.
“I’m just pretty disappointed and I hate losing here.
“I’m a bit lost for words at the moment.”
Brisbane came close to producing an upset win over Penrith in their last meeting in Round 6 this year, when Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary kicked a 43m field goal and scored the final try in their 20-12 win.
Despite the daunting task this weekend, Haas embraced the challenge and believed his side could make amends for Sunday’s loss.
“It’s a good game for us to bounce back from,” he said.
“They’re the top team in the comp at the moment – them and the Storm – and it starts at training.
“We have to fix up those little things, especially those second half lapses.
“Penrith is going to be a hard game but if we go in with the right attitude, I’m sure we can turn it around.”
Walters bakes Broncos after painful loss
The Brisbane Broncos have suffered one of their most painful losses of the season after blowing an eight point halftime lead to go down to the out-of-form Tigers 42-24.
In front of 24,894 fans on a Sunday afternoon match at Suncorp Stadium, not even Brisbane’s reported $10 million dollar man Payne Haas could help steer the Broncos to a win.
It was a try-for-try kind of match at first, and a true reflection of where both sides sit on the ladder, with both teams making costly errors and poor decisions in defence.
Following their 26-18 win over Cronulla last round, the Broncos were on cloud nine heading into the match, but now it’s back to the drawing board.
Life doesn’t get any easier for the Broncos either, with a Saturday night showdown against the red-hot Panthers next weekend.
Brisbane looked like they picked up where they left off from their last round win, running out to an 18-10 lead at halftime.
Even with just half an hour to go, the Broncos were up 24-20. But Tigers five-eighth Adam Doueihi tore apart the Brisbane defence.
The Tigers scored four unanswered tries in the final 20 minutes of the match to run out to a convincing 18-point victory.
Broncos coach Kevin Walters labelled Sunday’s 18-point loss as a “mentally soft” performance from some of his players.
“That was disappointing,” Walters said.
“We had our chances in the first half to go into halftime with a good lead and I thought we didn’t do that.
“In the second half, the game just slipped through our fingers.
“(Our defence) was not good today.
“Most teams in the NRL can score points quickly if you’re not resilient in defence and we certainly weren’t that today.
“A lot about defence is a mental thing.
“Their effort was good today but I just thought they were a bit soft mentally.”
BRISBANE’S ACHILLES HEEL
The Broncos may have found some confidence in attack but it’s their defence which is seriously hurting their chances.
Broncos coach Kevin Walters admitted pre-game that their defensive effort was their “Achilles heel” and have now leaked 542 points in 17 games this year.
Leading into Sunday’s match, the Broncos were conceding an average 31.3 points per game – the most in club history.
The Tigers ran riot on Brisbane’s leaky left edge – scoring their first five tries through their right side attack.
BRISBANE’S PAYNE
Despite the demoralising loss, Brisbane’s reported $10 million dollar man Payne Haas looked every cent of his grandiose contract in the first half.
The barnstorming 21-year-old ran for 151 metres, made 37 tackles and set up a try through a handy offload to engine room partner Tom Flegler.
His 65-minute effort on Sunday afternoon came just days after his monster performance in Wednesday’s Origin Game Three.
It was evident as to why Brisbane are planning to table a record offer to keep Haas at Red Hill with the Broncos middle losing their impact when he was substituted off after 50 straight minutes.
ROBATI INJURY
Boom Broncos youngster TC Robati lasted just four minutes of the game after succumbing to a corked leg.
He was taken from the field and didn’t return for the match.
Walters was forced to pitchfork bench backrower Jordan Riki into the side who finished the match with six tackle busts and a try.
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