Tom Dearden sidelined as Titans shock Broncos at Suncorp Stadium
The Brisbane Broncos could be counting the cost of their shock loss to the Titans for several weeks more after losing one their most promising rookies to an ankle injury.
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The Broncos have come crashing back down to earth in a stunning 26-18 boilover to little brother Gold Coast at Suncorp Stadium.
After winning three on the trot against Manly, the Roosters and Warriors, Brisbane have fallen to their seventh loss of the season in a shock home ground defeat in front of 30,048 stunned fans.
The M1 derby had finished in Brisbane’s favour on eight of the past nine occasions before the game but now the younger brother has won back-to-back games on Brisbane’s hallowed turf.
In a rare Sunday afternoon game at Suncorp Stadium, it was a rare win for the Titans.
In scenes reminiscent of last year, Gold Coast came out of the blocks on fire and simply left the Broncos in their wake, as was the case last season in their shock 26-14 win at Suncorp Stadium.
The Broncos were without a host of Origin players, including Corey Oates, Matt Gillett and Joe Ofahengaue, and couldn’t match the Titans’ intensity from the outset.
This is coach Anthony Seibold’s first time handling the Origin period in the Broncos’ top job and said it was set to be a challenging period.
“It is challenging there’s no doubt about that,” he said.
“It doesn’t make sense to back them up every single time.
“We picked a team who we thought could do the job.
“It’s obviously going to be a challenge.”
The post-Origin period has always been a worry for the Brisbane side and this year was no different.
Brisbane dropped both matches last year when they had their players back up from Origin in Round 14 and Round 18.
They headed into the match full of confidence as they aimed up against a struggling Titans’ side who had lost nine games this year.
Just four weeks ago, the Broncos were under immense pressure to turn their season around after falling to their equal worst start in club history.
And in the space of a month, coach Anthony Seibold had seemingly achieved that.
But then yesterday’s loss to 15th-placed Gold Coast has brought them crashing back down to earth.
If they have any hope of being in serious finals contention they will need to avoid becoming complacent again, especially when they travel to Sydney to play Parramatta this weekend.
The Broncos were left stunned by the Titans’ enthusiasm early in the game as livewires AJ Brimson and Tyrone Roberts terrorised the defensive line.
Young halfback Tom Dearden only lasted 10 minutes yesterday after succumbing to a high ankle sprain and finished the match in a moon boot.
It is understood the injury is similar to Daly Cherry-Evans’ syndesmosis issue but will undergo scans to confirm the extent of the damage.
Seibold may well use yesterday’s makeshift halfback Jake Turpin as his starting No.7 for the time being.
Young gun halves Sean O’Sullivan and Cory Paix remain on the fringes but Turpin was incredibly impressive when he filled in the No.7 role yesterday.
He was initially a halfback before suffering an injury during his time at Melbourne shifted him into the dummy-half position.
His effort yesterday could not be faulted, finishing the game with five tackle break and 29 bruising tackles.
Million dollar man Anthony Milford had to step up in the absence of Dearden yesterday but did not reach his full potential.
Origin returners David Fifita and Payne Haas were also good in their back up from Wednesday night while Andrew McCullough’s early return from injury was successful.
Seibold was adamant that Turpin will remain in the side after yesterday’s effort.
“Jake will be in our team, just what position,” he said.
“I’ll see how Sean O’Sullivan pulls up who is playing for Norths (Devils).
“We will review and see what we need for next week.”
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