Broncos players have strange pre-game preparation

SAM Thaiday is well liked in rugby league circles, and this moment during the Broncos’ clash with the Knights showed why.

NRL Rd 5 - Titans v Broncos

SAM Thaiday showed what a true champion of the sport he is with a classy act of sportsmanship midway through the first stanza of the Broncos’ clash against the Knights.

After his barnstorming run was ended by several Knights players in their half, the Novocastrians scrambled to their feet as they rushed back into the defensive line. All except one of them.

Forward Jacob Saifiti didn’t get up after the tackle, lying on his back on the turf. After he played the ball, Thaiday stayed with Saifiti and pointed to him, trying to alert either the officials or Newcastle trainers.

What makes the Brisbane back-rower’s act even more special is the fact the Broncos looked like scoring on that play. Anthony Milford’s magic feet and sleight of hand saw him beat a couple of defenders on the short side before he slipped a pass to winger Corey Oates who crossed for a four-pointer.

Instead of backing up in support, the Queensland and Australian representative still stayed with Saifiti. He didn’t even go to celebrate with his teammates.

He waited until a Newcastle runner came over to the 19-year-old, and shook the rookie’s hand when he intimated he was OK.

It was pure class.

Probably the first time I'll ever say something positive about Sam Thaiday but nice of him to try and get play stopped for Jacob.

— Skye (@SkyeLH7) April 16, 2016

Great sportsmanship by Thaiday, staying with the Knights player #NRLBroncosKnights

— Anna (@terrible_vision) April 16, 2016

BRONCOS’ WEIRD PE-MATCH PREPARATION

SPORTS science has progressed to a level even NASA might struggle to comprehend.

Teams employ any method they can to get an advantage, so the strange is becoming the norm these days — just look at Manly having a jar of pickles on their bench against the Eels on Thursday night because pickle juice is a great anti-cramping medicine.

We don’t really know what was going on inside the Broncos’ dressing room before they took to the field against the Knights on Saturday evening, all we do know is that is was a very strange sight.

Some players were drinking water or topping up their electrolytes with a cup of Gatorade, and some were getting final adjustments made to their strapping before heading up the tunnel. But some were doing something completely different.

Josh McGuire, Corey Oates and Sam Thaiday were a few of the players who went to a Brisbane trainer with a certain substance in his hand, before they proceeded to put this substance in their mouths. It looked as though they used a couple of fingers to spread it around the inside of their cheeks and throat.

Then, they gagged and dry-retched.

Dressing room cameras captured the bizarre pre-match preparation, baffling many viewers who were left asking the same question on Twitter.

@MattyShowsFox What's the stuff the Broncos were rubbing in there mouth making them dry reach

— dan spiller (@Danspiller81) April 16, 2016

#NRLBroncosKnights Anyone see the locker room shots before game? Broncos putting liquid in their mouths causing half the players to gag?

— bob smith (@Aussie_Pride_83) April 16, 2016

@FOXNRLLive @mattshirvington what was that the broncos players were repeatedly rubbing on the back of their tongues till it made them gag?

— Dane (@truthadvisor) April 16, 2016

What's with the Broncos forwards trying to gag themselves pre game?

— jerry (@jonvthon) April 16, 2016

Whatever that was, it seemed to do the trick as the Broncos completely outclassed their opponents in the first half, going into the break with a 22-0 lead.

Apart from setting up Corey Oates’ second try, Milford also crossed the line twice himself in the first half to ensure the home side went to the break with a healthy advantage.

They then bumped the scoreline up to 38-0 less than 20 minutes into the second term to put the game well beyond doubt.

The Broncos’ appetite for points didn’t end there, though, as they ran away with it to secure a thumping 53-0 victory.

Brisbane (6-1) reclaimed the NRL ladder lead by scoring 10 unanswered tries, shutting out a team for the second straight week following their 26-0 victory over the Dragons.

The Knights arrived in town as overwhelming underdogs and their odds plummeted further when they lost backrower Jeremy Smith (knee) before the kick-off.

And their luck did not change on the field.

At one stage debutant Joshua King was the only man left on the visitors’ bench after they lost five eighth Jarrod Mullen, winger Nathan Ross and hooker Tyler Randell by early in the second half.

Thaiday is one of the good guys.

Beyond the scoreline, the Broncos also proved emphatically that reports of internal division following an argument between players over the discovery of a “rat” in their ranks were false or at least inconsequential.

As dominant as they were, they were still shy of their 71-6 club record win over the Knights at the same venue in 2007.

Even so, master coach Wayne Bennett’s men inflicted plenty of pain on his former side in a match he would have been forgiven for taking personally.

Bennett’s perceived lack of a succession plan at the Knights in 2013 had been blamed for Newcastle’s current woes in the Sydney press.

On a horror night for Newcastle, halfback Trent Hodkinson hardly figured in a blow to his NSW Origin chances.

Time and again he took poor last tackle options as his kicking game misfired.

Newcastle have now lost nine of their past 11 games against Brisbane.

To make matters worse, prop Pauli Pauli was placed on report for a high shot on opposite Joe Ofahengaue.

— with AAP.

Originally published as Broncos players have strange pre-game preparation