NRL 2018 season review: Brisbane Broncos’ youthful talent shines as halves come up short
ON face value, a sixth placed finish was roughly in line with Brisbane’s external expectations, but to the club, it was viewed as a 12th consecutive year without premiership glory. SEASON REVIEW.
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BRISBANE’s season was a difficult one to assess.
On face value, a sixth placed finish with wins against numerous competition heavyweights was roughly in line with the side’s external expectations.
Fifteen wins and nine losses is nothing to be ashamed of, but for a club that demands frequent success, a 12th consecutive year without premiership glory is hard to take.
The inability to come close to breaking the drought put extreme pressure on the future of Wayne Bennett, with his tenure at the club looking grim.
Brisbane’s attack was relentless for much of the year, but as we’re constantly informed, defence wins premierships.
The Broncos conceded 500 points across the regular season, and it ultimately brought them undone in their elimination final against St George Illawarra.
WHERE THEY FINISHED
6th (finals week one)
WHAT WENT WRONG?
The Broncos were the form team of the competition entering week one of finals coming off dominant wins against the Sea Eagles, Rabbitohs and Roosters.
History will show that premiers have had a tendency to drop games leading into the finals, rarely do they fly into the business end of the season on winning streaks - with the exception of Melbourne in 2017.
Take a look at the results of the past five grand finalists in the last three weeks of the regular season:
2017: Storm: 3/3, Cowboys: 1/3
2016: Sharks: 1/3, Storm: 2/3
2015: Cowboys: 2/3, Broncos 1/3
2014: Rabbitohs: 1/3, Bulldogs 1/3
2013: Roosters 1/3, Sea Eagles 2/3
You could easily put their elimination final loss down to an off day, but perhaps Brisbane peaked over the past month, while their more fancied rivals were readying for finals football.
With the rigours of the NRL over a lengthy season, it’s extremely difficult to lift week after week.
This is the exact reason many well-placed analysts in the game refer to late season losses as ‘one they had to have,’ along with the need to avoid complacency.
Brisbane were forced to reach their peak for the past month of the season to cement their top eight position.
Eventually something had to give, and it came on a day where there were no second chances handed out.
WHAT WENT RIGHT
Trailing only South Sydney and Canberra, Brisbane had the third best attacking record in the competition.
Anthony Milford and Kodi Nikorima copped criticism all season, namely for their game management, but the youthful pairing knew how to manufacture points.
Wayne Bennett notoriously eases his youngsters into the NRL, but injuries and a poor early record forced his hand at increasing the game time of a wealth of talents.
Payne Haas, Kotoni Staggs, David Fifita and Gehamat Shibasaki all earned debuts, Jamayne Isaako had only played one NRL game last season, while Tevita Pangai Jnr was given heavily increased minutes when not managing niggling injuries.
The young guns not only handled the monumental step up to the top grade, they often did so with dominance, contributing greatly to their attacking prowess.
STATS THAT SUM UP THE SEASON
Best record of any team in top eight against each other: Eight wins, four loses
Record against bottom eight teams: Seven wins, five losses
KEY MAIN AREA THEY NEED TO IMPROVE
The halves pairing were the subject of intense scrutiny all season, all of it well justified. The ability of both Nikorima and Milford to create points is unquestioned, it’s their lack of game management that requires the greatest development.
There were enough reasons to retain Milford over more renowned controlling halfback Ben Hunt at the end of 2017, with the million dollar price tag on the Dragons playmaker stated as the main reason for his departure.
The absence of a directing half cruelled Brisbane all season, so to let go of Hunt, then sign Jack Bird who commanded the same amount of money, made no sense with the club already stacked with back-rowers and centres.
Defensively Nikorima struggled throughout the year, while Milford is playing in a role that isn’t suited to his strength in simply running the ball.
The Broncos have signed exciting Roosters prospect Sean O’Sullivan next season, with the halfback more adept at filling that management role the side so desperately seek.
If the current pairing fail to improve in the early stages of 2019, the spine could see a major shake-up.
In a positive sign, Milford’s kicking game in the back end of the season was sensational and provided plenty of reassurance for the future.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE SEASON
It’s hard to separate their final three weeks of the regular season. While it may have gassed them for finals, they delivered three tremendous wins at a point where their place in the top eight was under major threat.
They towelled up ladder leaders South Sydney (38-18) and the Roosters (22-8), before securing a home final with a belting win over the Sea Eagles (48-16).
While the heavyweight wins were the most impressive, the victory against Manly in front of almost 42,000 Brisbane fans to secure club legend Sam Thaiday one final Suncorp farewell was pretty special.
LOWLIGHT OF THE SEASON
The elimination final loss to St George Illawarra was a brutal watch in Thaiday’s swan song. Entering the finals in red-hot form, the strong favourites were belted 48-18 by the Dragons to finish their season on a major low.
The Broncos dished up one of their poorest performances of the season, with the early finals exit potentially bringing an end to Wayne Bennett’s career at the club.
BIG NAME RECRUITS
Sean O’Sullivan (Sydney Roosters, 2020)
BIG NAME LOSSES
Korbin Sims (St George Illawarra Dragons), Sam Thaiday (retired)
2019: BEST POSSIBLE SCENARIO
With their stunning talent still on the way up, a premiership may yet be another year away, but there’s no reason Brisbane can’t go all the way in 2019. The halves will get another preseason together, Matt Gillett and Jack Bird return, and the youth will continue to develop.
2019: WORST POSSIBLE SCENARIO
If you believe in second year syndrome, there’s cause for concern. If the plethora of rookies fail to live up to their first year feats, and the seesawing form of the halves fails to find consistency, the outcome could be very similar to what they posted in 2018.
COACH SAFETY RATING: 3
Despite being contracted until the end of 2019, master coach Wayne Bennett may be moved on before the new season begins.