Broncos rookie Ethan Bullemor in line for a memorable NRL debut against South Sydney
Former Nudgee College student Ethan Bullemor graduated with an OP1 and is studying advanced economics at uni, and now he’s set to drop crunching numbers for crunching opponents in his Broncos debut.
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Try telling Broncos young gun Ethan Bullemor the NRL season should be suspended.
The Broncos will run out to be greeted by 52,000 empty seats at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night but it won’t detract from the greatest moment of Bullemor’s career when the rookie celebrates his NRL debut against South Sydney.
Bullemor could well be the smartest prop in rugby league.
Labelled a “genius” by Broncos insiders, the 20-year-old bookend achieved an OP1 at St Joseph’s Nudgee College, the highest score possible, and is studying a Bachelor of Advanced Economics at university.
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The cost of the NRL aborting the season isn’t lost on Bullemor, which is why the Queensland under-20s forward will make the most of his NRL baptism following the suspension of Broncos firebrand Tevita Pangai Jr.
“Ethan is a really talented person on and off the field,” Broncos coach Anthony Seibold said.
“He is an OP1 student from Nudgee College, he came down from Springsure (in the Central Queensland Highlands) to finish year 11 and 12.
“He has shown a lot of talent in the classroom and on the sportsfield.
“He is a terrific kid, he lives with Jake Turpin and Kotoni Staggs (Broncos NRL squad members), so it’s been great motivation for him to play with his mates.
“He is ready to play NRL.”
The Broncos required dispensation from the NRL for Bullemor to make his top-grade debut.
He is outside Brisbane’s top 30 on a development-player contract but the suspension of Pangai Jr left the Broncos short of full-time contracted options, opening the door for Bullemor.
The front-rower is so nimble on his feet he is faster than Broncos sensations David Fifita and Payne Haas, as evidenced last year when Bullemor scored a runaway 60-metre try for Norths Devils against Townsville in the Intrust Super Cup.
Playing in front of a crowd of zero won’t concern Bullemor one bit ... because he has done it before.
“Ethan is making his debut and 18 months ago he was playing at 11am in front of nobody,” Seibold said.
“Two or three years ago a lot of our guys were still at school playing under-18s footy and you don’t get great crowds to those games but the guys still compete strongly.”
Seibold says the first priority is the health of all Australians but hopes the NRL season can fight on amid the COVID-19 health crisis.
“Internally here we want to keep playing,” Seibold said.
“The guys don’t want the games called off that’s for sure.
“People’s health is the first priority, I’m certainly guided by the health authorities, and if the government think it’s no longer safe to play games, then we shouldn’t be doing that.
“But at the moment we haven’t had that directive. It’s unprecedented times we are in, there are different businesses doing it tough. The least we can do is prepare the best we can and play footy on Friday night.”
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The blockbuster clash will pit the Broncos pack against the club’s former head coach Wayne Bennett, as well as former players James Roberts and Jaydn Su’A.
Seibold admitted the club could improve on last week’s 28-21 win over the Cowboys.
“The motivation that we take into the game is to try and improve on last week,” Seibold said.
“There was certainly a lot of areas we were happy with but there’s some areas that we need to be better with, more consistent with over a longer period of time.
“We know Souths are a strong team.
“We’ll do our homework this week and be very diligent.”
Boom prop forward Payne Haas said despite playing in front of no fans, he was still preparing for a tough clash with the Rabbitohs.
“It is going to be a pretty big build-up again apart from what is going on off the field, and even though we know there will be no fans there,” he said.
“It will still be a big build-up and they will turn up to play and we will have to turn up too.”
ORIGIN ENFORCER RETURNS FOR COWBOYS
Maroons enforcer Josh McGuire will play his first game of 2020 when the Cowboys take on the Bulldogs this week.
The 30-year-old missed the season-opener due to suspension but will get his first shot of 2020 in front of an empty ANZ Stadium on Thursday night.
His inclusion into the side has pushed utility star John Asiata to the bench, forcing Corey Jensen out of the side.
Star centre Justin O’Neill is also set to line up for the Cowboys again despite leaving last week’s game early with a head knock.
The Cowboys are hoping to improve on last week’s game, after the Broncos spoiled the opening of their brand new home stadium with a 28 to 21 win.
Several players were criticised for playing below their best, however coach Paul Green has stayed loyal with his playing group, making just the one change in bringing in McGuire.
Green said Thursday couldn’t come soon enough for the club.
“They deserve the chance to bounce back, but there are some guys where it wasn’t their best performance,” Green said.
“When you feel a bit disappointed about your performance, the quicker you can get out there and try to fix or do things a little bit better, the better off you’re going to feel.
“For us, Thursday can’t come quick enough.”
It comes as the club begins preparations for the first NRL game to be played behind closed doors as the coronavirus continues to spread across the country.
Extra precautions are being put in place by the North Queensland club, including flying back to Townsville just hours after full-time.
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