Brisbane Broncos cop it from captain and coach after loss to Roosters

Broncos coach Michael Maguire has put his pack on notice after they were outmuscled by the Roosters, as skipper Adam Reynolds admitted to frustration over his team’s lack of discipline.

Skipper Adam Reynolds has blasted an “ill-disciplined” Broncos side as coach Michael Maguire put Brisbane’s pack on notice in the wake of the Roosters’ epic Suncorp ambush.

Brisbane (4-2) face a tricky road trip to New Zealand this Saturday night to face the Warriors, stung by a midfield mauling in their 26-16 loss to the Roosters on Friday night.

It was a night of high drama headlined by confusing refereeing calls, including the retrospective sin-binning of Broncos back-rower Jack Gosiewski over a foul-play incident in which the Roosters didn’t even get a penalty.

But Maguire refused to take the easy way out by blaming match officials, instead turning the blowtorch on a Broncos side that was soundly beaten-up in the middle third.

(L-R) Adam Reynolds and Michael Maguire admit the Broncos were outplayed by the Roosters.

Brisbane’s chief enforcers Payne Haas and Pat Carrigan were rendered ineffective by the Roosters’ midfield energy, prompting Maguire to urge his pack to fire up against the Warriors.

“It was a harsh lesson,” Maguire said of Brisbane’s second loss of the season.

“We needed to complete higher and be more physical.

“If we did those two things we are talking about a different game, but they (the Roosters) turned up and had a bit more physicality than I know that’s in our team.

“We have to look at ourselves.”

In a further setback for the Broncos, in-form winger Jesse Arthars - the NRL’s leading tryscorer with eight from six games - will miss the Warriors clash with concussion.

Brisbane bookends Patrick Carrigan and Payne Haas were outplayed by their Roosters counterparts.

The Broncos completed at just 76 per cent and gave away a slew of cheap penalties, leaving captain Reynolds frustrated by Brisbane’s lack of self-control.

“We were poor and ill-disciplined,” he said.

“We have to be better.”

The Broncos entered the round 6 clash second on percentages but Brisbane have twice looked vulnerable in midfield this season.

In round 2 against Canberra, the Raiders ruthlessly rolled over the advantage line to set up a 32-22 victory and the Roosters outmuscled and outhustled the Broncos on Friday night.

Underlining the Roosters’ dominance, front-row duo Nat Butcher and Naufahu Whyte combined for 268 metres and 33 runs to nullify the Haas-Carrigan alliance.

While disappointed with Brisbane’s forward output, Maguire says he has no doubt the Broncos possess the roster to break the club’s 19-year title drought this season.

“I am definitely getting a read on them,” Maguire said of his squad.

“I have a huge amount of belief in this team in what I’ve seen and how we’ve gone about things.

“What we can do is make sure they play the way I know we’re capable of.

“The physicality of what they (Roosters) turned up with compared to where we are at ... the disappointing part is we missed the mark.

“I just felt they were a bit more hungry than where we are at and they were able to capitalise on the things they did and we didn’t. We have to take that forward.

“We went a bit sideways with the ball and ended up going into touch.

“You have to earn the right to be able to get your plays on. We definitely put a lot of pressure on ourselves.

“We need to handle moments in the games at a better level.

“We didn’t play to where we wanted and now we have to look at that and make sure we turn up this week.

“You can’t be complacent. If you are thinking like that you are kidding yourself really.”

Originally published as Brisbane Broncos cop it from captain and coach after loss to Roosters