Kevin Walters says refreshed Selwyn Cobbo is ready for Queensland State of Origin recall
Broncos coach Kevin Walters has pointed to the refreshed form of speedster Selwyn Cobbo as proof players benefit from being rested during the Origin period.
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Kevin Walters believes Selwyn Cobbo is proof of the need to freshen up State of Origin players and has declared him primed for a Queensland recall.
Cobbo is the standout alternative to replace winger Xavier Coates in the July 17 State of Origin decider at Suncorp Stadium after the Melbourne flyer injured his hamstring on Saturday.
Coates will be out for around six weeks and Cobbo provided the perfect audition for his spot with a 150m running game, including some heavy duty work in the middle of the field as a de facto forward, in the Broncos loss to the Warriors on Saturday.
While form is the major consideration, there is the additional issue of coach Billy Slater having to decide whether Cobbo is ready to face the furnace of a hugely pressurised contest after missing the second match of the series due to the toll of playing with injections and the need to work on unspecified parts of his game.
Broncos coach Walters has no doubts Cobbo is ready for the immense mental and physical challenges of an Origin decider.
“I think he’d be at the forefront of Billy’s mind, that’s for sure. He had another strong game for us,’’ Walters said at the Brisbane International Airport on return from New Zealand.
“So it just goes to show the toll that Origin takes on young players. He was a different player for us last night so it was good to see.’’
Asked whether Cobbo would be up to the challenge of returning to Origin, Walters said: “Yeah, definitely. He got some time away from the game. He went back to Cherbourg and his family. That’s normally very invigorating for players, particularly Selwyn with time with his family.
“That’s all he needed. Just a bit of a break. I’m sure if he’s called upon he’d love to play for Queensland, but we’ve got next week against the Panthers and he’s got to get his mind around that short turnaround for us.’’
Walters was criticised by some former players for resting his Origin stars Reece Walsh, Pat Carrigan and Payne Haas for the Warriors game but has no reservations about the move.
“I think it is a really smart decision. There’s still nine rounds left in the competition. They’ve still got to get through another Origin game yet.
“I’m just looking after them, basically putting them first and we know if they get through this period it’s full steam ahead … we did the same thing last year. Didn’t seem to bother anyone too much last year. No one noticed. Funny that.’’
The return of the Origin stars for Friday’s Suncorp Stadium match against Penrith comes at a perfect time with Broncos depth tested by major injuries to forwards Jack Gosiewski (broken arm, eight weeks) and Fletcher Baker (knee) against the Warriors.
“It does affect your depth,’’ Walters conceded. “That’s probably the most concerning thing from the game last night is two more long term injuries. So it does make a difference.’’
Broken arm, MCL decimate Broncos’ brittle forward stocks
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Broncos back-up forward Jack Gosiewski has not been written off for a return this season despite suffering a broken arm on Saturday.
Gosiewski broke his arm early in the Broncos 32-16 loss to the Warriors, Brisbane’s fourth loss in a row,
“Jack was taken to hospital in Auckland last night where an X-ray confirmed he sustained a broken arm,’’ Broncos head of performance Dav Ballard said.
“We would expect Jack to miss up to eight weeks while his arm heals.’’
If Gosiewski spends two months on the sidelines he could still be back for the finals – if the Broncos make them which is no certainty.
Ballard confirmed fellow forward Fletcher Baker had picked up a medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury and will be scanned in Brisbane.
He is also likely to be sidelined for a lengthy period.
RESTING STARS BACKFIRES ON KEVVIE
A call made way back in the pre-season has come back to haunt Broncos coach Kevin Walters after his team were dismantled across the ditch by the Warriors.
Walters’ defiance to follow through on the decision to leave Origin representatives Reece Walsh, Pat Carrigan and Payne Haas back home in Red Hill backfired tremendously as the Warriors ran out 32-16 victors.
Before a ball was kicked, Australian coach Mal Meninga rightly questioned Walters’ choice to leave his three best players in Australia.
“It’s a very tough decision,” Meninga said. “Even looking back at Kevvy throughout his career, he would never sit at home and not play.
“It’s a little bit against the way the Broncos have operated in the past, where typically it’s seen as a badge of honour to come back after Origin.”
The Broncos were on a hiding to nothing from the very beginning as back-rower Jack Gosiewski left the field in the opening minutes with a suspected broken arm. His replacement Fletcher Baker (knee) also failed to finish the game.
Coming within a converted try twice in the second half, the Broncos had no answers late on as the Warriors ran away with it.
Brisbane’s fourth-consecutive loss leaves them precariously placed in the top eight stakes ahead of their impending grand final rematch against Penrith this Friday.
Walters was under no illusion of the challenges ahead for his side but remained confident of the Broncos’ finals fortunes.
“It’s always a tough period for clubs who provide players through Origin. This year we have been hit a bit harder through injuries for those guys not involved,” Walters said.
“The NRL is tough, we’re getting a good dose of it at the moment but I’m really confident that good things are around the corner.
“There’s no worry from me. I know how hard these guys are working. We have a huge injury toll at the moment and lost more today. We have to find our way through this, and we will.”
GHOSTS OF PLAYERS PAST
There’s no doubt Warriors half Te Maire Martin will forever be grateful to the Broncos’ for resurrecting his career.
Brisbane ended Martin’s almost three-season NRL exodus in 2022 after a brain bleed threatened to end the Kiwi international’s career, before a player swap with Walsh saw him sign with the Warriors last year.
Grateful as he may be, Martin didn’t show a lick of it upon orchestrating his former team’s demise.
Martin had the ball on a string, having a hand in all three of the Warriors’ first half tries including his own in the 15th minute.
The absence of Shaun Johnson proved Chanel Harris-Tavita’s gain, the five-eighth scoring a first half double courtesy of Martin’s deft touch.
Martin would close out a special performance with a further two try assists from the boot for veteran duo Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak.
STAGNANT STAGGS
Kotoni Staggs won’t remember this performance fondly.
At a time when he needed to stand up in the absence of key teammates, the incumbent Australian centre made poor decision after poor decision all afternoon.
A bad read on Harris-Tavita’s first try was the tip of the iceberg for Staggs, whose pass selection throughout was mediocre at best.
Staggs will likely end the weekend with lighter pockets too, after being placed on report for an alleged trip.
DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK
How do you get a read on the Warriors in 2024?
With their campaign closely personifying that of a yoyo, the Warriors’ win over Brisbane puts to bed a horror two-game stretch.
Conceding 104 points over the last fortnight, including a record 66-6 loss to the cellar-dwelling Gold Coast Titans, the Warriors are somehow just one win off the logjam of teams sitting in and around the top eight.
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