NRL Round 3 2022: Broncos v Cowboys match report, score, Adam Reynolds’ horror start at Suncorp

Hands on hips. Vacant stares. This was the body language of the wooden spoon-winning Broncos. And that’s a major concern for coach Kevin Walters, writes Robert Craddock.

Cowboys players celebrate a try to Jeremiah Nanai (Photo by Dan Peled/Getty Images)

The Cowboys are on the rise again and it’s a victory for an old fashioned straight shooter brave enough to speak his mind.

The rugby league world feared for Cowboys coach Todd Payten last season when he came into the job and started talking honestly about his side’s shortcomings, even giving the $10 million man Jason Taumalolo a tickle up after round one.

Payten, a former robust forward journeyman who played 15 years for three clubs, seemed like an old world coach to adjust to a sensitive modern society.

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Todd Payten ruffled feathers last year - but seems to have turned a corner with the Cowboys in 2022. Picture: Getty

The street corner whisper was that the Cowboys players were not happy.

But when he was deep in trouble he still had support of the board who hired him because they liked the cut of his jib and the fact that he turned up for work the same solid person every day, devoid of any whims or major mood swings.

Straight-faced, square-jawed and brave enough to tell the truth, Payten hung in there and the landslide win over the Broncos is the Cowboys’ best win in ages and has set them up for a strong season.

It’s still early days but we are tempted to conclude that while the truth may sting a bit it might just work for him.

The Courier-Mail chief league writer Peter Badel attended the Cowboys launch in Townsville this season and sensed a new fresh, electric vibe among the massive corporate crowd and the players.

Chad Townsend spoke impressively and while words don’t win rugby league games it was clear this team needed a fresh, experienced voice bringing clarity to a disjointed backline.

Townsend has helped steer the Cowboys to second place on the NRL ladder. Picture: Getty

No-one is hailing Townsend as the new Thurston but against the Broncos his kicking game was precise, his passing and organisational skills top class.

Tom Dearden, once the Broncos’ great white hope before being signed by the Cowboys without much resistance from Brisbane, played like a man with a point to prove and, with a first grade career of less than 30 games, still has much improvement in the tank.

Decent playmakers are almost impossible to find in Queensland – the search for the new Allan Langer is about to enter a third decade - so Dearden is worthy of every investment the Cowboys can make in him.

For Brisbane, the day was a reminder that you cannot wipe away the scars of two years of heartache with two good wins.

Dejected Broncos players Kotoni Staggs, Herbie Farnworth and Tesi Niu react to their first defeat of the year. Picture: Getty

The final scoreline was very much circa 2020 for the Broncos – a couple of tries scored and 30-plus points conceded complete with a second half fade-out featuring a crumbling defensive line.

In time, we may recall this day as one where the Cowboys proved they are a team surging up the ladder and this was the start of it.

But the Broncos were simply outmuscled and outhussled in a fashion they knew well from previous seasons.

You could see it in their body language behind the posts after a try. The hands on the hips, the silent stares, the vacant looks.

Broncos head coach Kevin Walters has much to ponder. Picture: Getty

This loss proved to Brisbane if their two key players – Adam Reynolds and Kotoni Staggs – play poorly the ship will go down with them.

Normally so cool and reliable, Reynolds had a bad game with two kicks in a row into touch on the full in the second half the sign of a man over-reaching.

It’s not the end of the world for Brisbane. They ran into a hot team who wanted it more on the day. It happens.

But clearly this Broncos team are still learning how to hang on to the rhythms of a game when things run against them.

For the Cowboys the challenge is to play against everyone liked they played against Brisbane. It won’t be easy.

REYNOLDS’ HOMECOMING BECOMES HOUSE OF HORRORS

By Travis Meyn

Adam Reynolds’ homecoming turned into a house of horrors as the Cowboys produced a derby ambush to burst Brisbane’s early-season bubble in a 38-12 mauling.

In his first home game, Reynolds and the Broncos had an afternoon to forget in front of 37,761 at Suncorp Stadium as the energetic Cowboys delivered Brisbane its first loss of 2022 in emphatic fashion.

The 26–point drubbing was embarrassing for a Broncos team that showed promising signs in the first two weeks of the season and had shades of the 2020-21 debacles.

“It’s a good grounder for all of us,” said Broncos coach Kevin Walters.

“We will learn from today. We need to make sure we’re better for next week.

“We got a punch in the face today. We’ve got to respect that “

While all eyes were on veteran halfback Reynolds, it was North Queensland’s teen sensation Jeremiah Nanai that stole the show with a stunning hat-trick in his derby debut, just the seventh game of his blossoming NRL career.

Jeremiah Nanai and Adam Reynolds.

Nanai announced himself as a star of the future while Cowboys centre Valentine Holmes produced the best performance since his ill-fated attempt at cracking the NFL.

A win would have given Brisbane a 3-0 start to the season – something they have translated into a top eight finish on all previous nine occasions in their 34-year history.

Instead, the Broncos were upstaged by a sublime North Queensland team headlined by Holmes, Jason Taumalolo and their vibrant youth that recorded its best win of the Todd Payten era.

Adam Reynolds and the Broncos had a day to forget (Photo by Dan Peled/Getty Images)

REYNOLDS’ SUNCORP NIGHTMARE

After missing Brisbane’s round 1 upset of South Sydney, Reynolds ran on to Suncorp Stadium wearing the Broncos’ cherished heritage jersey hoping to produce an Allan Langer-style performance.

But his big moment quickly descended into one of the more forgettable games of his 233-match career.

Usually an ice-cold executor, Reynolds kicked out on the full twice in the space of two minutes early in the second half to give the Cowboys prime field position, which Holmes turned into a 20-6 lead as he terrorised centre rival Kotoni Staggs.

“I had a couple of pretty poor errors, kicking out on the full. There were a few little things that didn’t go our way,” Reynolds said.

“Kev summed it up well. We won two games but were pretty scrappy in both of them.

“We still haven’t quite hit our stride. It brings us back down to earth.”

From there, the Cowboys pressed on in a six-try rout that took scarred Broncos fans back to the horrors of the past two years.

Apart from a dubious penalty try in the 25th minute, the Broncos couldn’t crack North Queensland’s defence until Herbie Farnworth, one of Brisbane’s few good players on the day, scored in the 77th minute.

Cowboys players celebrate a try to Jeremiah Nanai (Photo by Dan Peled/Getty Images)

COWBOYS UNEARTH STARS

This was the performance Cowboys fans have been waiting years to see.

After four consecutive bottom four finishes, there is suddenly a glimmer of hope in North Queensland.

Experienced campaigners Holmes (172m, one try), Taumalolo (124m) and Chad Townsend led the way, but it was the Cowboys’ emerging brigade that stole the show.

Nanai, 19, was simply superb. A freakish talent, he opened scoring for the Cowboys then showcased his athleticism with two leaps in the space of five minutes as North Queensland put Brisbane to the sword.

Former Broncos playmaker Tom Dearden looked a different player to the confidence-sapped youngster that left Brisbane last year and got some revenge with a deserved try in the 73rd minute.

Up front it was young forwards Griffin Neame (110m), Reuben Cotter (134m) and Tom Gilbert (132m) that blitzed their highly-rated Broncos’ rivals.

“It was our best performance,” Payten said.

“We’ve been trying to build our game about playing it the right way. It should grow some confidence and belief.

“We’ve got points in us, we’ve just got to get the effort part right every week.”

Summer may be over but things are starting to heat up in Townsville.