Vegas NRL team news: Brendan Piakura set to line up in Vegas, Kevin Walters’ dilemma on Corey Oates
The Broncos have been sweating on the fitness of young gun Brandan Piakura, but coach Kevin Walters says the 15-gamer looks set to line up in Round 1.
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Broncos coach Kevin Walters has declared young gun Brendan Piakura an almost certain starter for Brisbane’s historic premiership opener in Las Vegas.
The Broncos will hold their first training session on American soil on Sunday morning (AEST), when Piakura will test out his injured knee at the training facility of NFL side Los Angeles Rams.
There were fears Piakura would be rubbed out of Brisbane’s round 1 clash against the Roosters next Sunday at Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium after sustaining MCL damage in his sizzling two-try trial against the Cowboys last Sunday.
But Walters is increasingly confident Piakura will take his place on Brisbane’s left edge and fill the back-row void left by vice-skipper Kurt Capewell, who joined the Warriors in pre-season.
Piakura ran without too much discomfort at a 90-minute fitness test in Brisbane last Wednesday, 24 hours before the Broncos jetted out of Australia to begin a week-long camp in Los Angeles.
That gave Broncos medicos hope of a quick recovery and Walters says Brisbane’s 14-hour flight did not have a detrimental effect on Piakura’s knee.
The Broncos will officially name their squad on Tuesday (AEST) and Walters is primed to pencil in the hard-running Piakura alongside Jordan Riki in Brisbane’s new-look back row for the 2024 season opener.
“I think Brendan will be fine,” Walters said.
“I would be very surprised if he didn’t play. He has to get through a bit of work here in LA, but he pulled up well from the flight and he’ll continue to get treatment.
“I doubt he will be racing the clock. We have good medical people at the Broncos who do a great job on our injured guys.
“He trained well before we left, that made us feel more comfortable about bringing Brendan to America so it’s a good sign for sure.
“Our medical staff seem to think that he will play and I’m very confident he will play for sure.”
While he has played only 15 NRL games, Piakura underlined his special talent last Sunday, terrorising the Cowboys on the fringes with his power and precision line running.
Capewell was renowned for his bravery in defence, but the 21-year-old Piakura gives Brisbane an explosive back-row option in tandem with Riki, who is on the comeback trail from shoulder surgery.
After checking into their five-star hotel on Friday (AEST), the Broncos enjoyed a rest day on Saturday, attending Crypto.com Arena to watch NBA legend LeBron James in the flesh in his LA Lakers side’s clash with San Antonio.
From Sunday, the Broncos will get down to business.
In other selection news, unsung hero Corey Jensen is firming to be named as Payne Haas’ front-row partner following Tom Flegler’s departure to the Dolphins.
Jensen was Brisbane’s best forward in their 46-20 trial defeat of the Cowboys, a performance that all-but sealed a starting engine-room berth for the no-nonsense toiler known as ‘Mudcrab’.
“Corey took the fight up against the Cowboys,” Walters said.
“He has had a superb pre-season and he is looking in great shape.
“We still have a few question marks. Plenty of guys have put their hand up in the pre-season, we’ll get stuck into training here in LA and finalise our 17 for Vegas.”
BRONCO’S BIG OATES DILEMMA
Grand final heartbreak kid Corey Oates is eyeing a Broncos recall as coach Kevin Walters looks to deploy his crash-land-bash 105kg frame and exploit the NRL’s smaller field size in Las Vegas.
Walters faces a major selection headache with Oates, Jesse Arthars and Deine Mariner locked in a three-way battle for two wing spots for Brisbane’s historic season opener against the Roosters at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday week (AEST).
The sole survivor of Brisbane’s 2015 grand final team, Oates was left gutted last season when he was axed on the eve of the finals, ultimately losing his wing spot to Arthars in the Broncos’ 26-24 grand final loss to the Panthers.
With Selwyn Cobbo shifting to right centre this season, Arthars and young gun Deine Mariner — Brisbane’s fastest man — were regarded as frontrunners to be the Broncos’ wing pairing for the 2024 premiership.
But Oates has rocketed into the selection frame in Vegas thanks to the more compact dimensions of Allegiant Stadium, which hosted the NFL Super Bowl a fortnight ago.
The 65,000-capacity Allegiant is 30 square metres smaller than a traditional NRL field — 6m shorter and 5m narrower — and Walters believes Oates’ tall, bullocking frame will be crucial for aerial contests and yardage on kick returns.
“I have a decision to make there,” Walters said of his wingers as the Broncos checked into their five-star Los Angeles hotel.
“Whichever way we go, we won’t lose because ‘Oatesy’, Jesse and Deine are all quality wingers.
“But, certainly, Oatesy is big and strong and experienced. He would be ideal for this occasion, especially with the tighter field size.
“Jesse has been injured and he was away for All Stars last week, so we will have a good look at the combinations this week at training and I’ll talk to the coaching staff about which way we go.”
Oates – the fourth greatest tryscorer in Brisbane’s history with 118 from 201 games – faces a make-or-break season at the Broncos.
The 29-year-old is off-contract at season’s end and cannot afford a repeat of the tumultuous 2023 campaign that saw him play just nine games due to a broken jaw and knee ligament damage.
Mariner is rated a future backline superstar at the Broncos, but Walters lauded the former Queensland Origin winger’s mindset in pre-season.
“I expect Oatesy to fight his way back this season,” he said.
“He is a different style of player to the other two (Arthars and Mariner).
“They all bring great qualities so I would be comfortable with whatever we decide to do on the wing in round 1.
“Oatesy was disappointed to miss the grand final, but he has come back with a great attitude and is training well.
“He has had a great pre-season … I can’t fault what he has done during the summer.”
The Broncos flew business class and touched down in Los Angeles on Friday morning (AEST) after a gruelling 14-hour haul.
Brisbane may be staying in five-star luxury in a region made famous by Hollywood, but Oates insists he isn’t treating the trip as an LA vacation as he looks to win back his left wing spot.
“It’s America, it’s where you might normally go for a holiday, but we are here for a different reason,” Oates said.
“We are here to get those two points. When it comes to training, we all have to switch on.
“We haven’t trained too much for the different field size.
“It won’t change too much, we just have to tighten our line up a bit.
“The game plan can’t be exactly the same, but the roof is what will get everyone. Our guys aren’t used to playing under a roof, so that will be a tough one for guys like Reece (Walsh, fullback) who has to catch the high ball.”
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