Brisbane Broncos out gunned, out classed and out played by Rabbitohs
After 10 losses in 11 games, it’s clear the Broncos have the resilience of a rice cracker. Forget the finals and forget saving Anthony Seibold. The only thing the club has left to play for is avoiding the ultimate embarrassment of a first wooden spoon.
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Brisbane’s finals hopes are officially over – and pretty soon, Broncos coach Anthony Seibold could be gone as well.
The sad reality for Brisbane’s bumbling board is the playoff prospects of the richest club in the NRL are shot in the first week of August after the Broncos’ 28-10 capitulation against Souths Friday night at ANZ Stadium.
Even without their head coach Wayne Bennett, sin-binned for 14 days for his COVID breach, the Bunnies led from start to finish to consign the 15th-placed Broncos to their 10th loss in 11 games.
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If the Bulldogs beat Melbourne on Saturday, the Broncos will be dead last on percentages.
Now comes the most sickening thought of all. For just the sixth time in their decorated 32-year history, the Broncos will not play finals football with Brisbane instead plunged into an embarrassing scrap to avoid their first ever wooden-spoon.
Brisbane’s board have pledged to review Seibold’s tenure at the end of this season but how much longer can they tolerate such ineptitude?
The Broncos have tried harder in the past fortnight but once again when their opponents built pressure, Brisbane simply crumbled in midfield with their tryline defence as soft as a marshmallow.
They have the resilience of a rice cracker.
Souths were hardly at their optimum but with Cody Walker and Latrell Mitchell pulling the strings, the Rabbitohs led 20-6 at halftime before Tom Burgess crashed over 13 minutes from time to bury the Broncos.
The Broncos have now conceded a whopping 401 points in just 13 games and face another torrid road trip against the Raiders next Saturday night in Canberra.
MIDFIELD MARSHMALLOWS
Brisbane have conceded the most tries in the midfield of any team this year. The middle-third mediocrity continued last night.
The Broncos’ defence in their opposition’s own half is often spirited and committed. But once teams reach Brisbane’s red zone, the Broncos’ communication, organisation and tryline desperation is shambolic. Exhibit A came in the 36th minute when Souths bench forward Mark Nicholls took the ball from a tap 10 metres out, steamrolled Jake Turpin, then carried Payne Haas, Matt Lodge and Darius Boyd across to score. Turpin’s first-up attempt was awful. Brisbane made Nicholls look like Sam Burgess.
STAR OF DAVID
Broncos hulk David Fifita is a rare talent. Playing his first game since March following knee surgery, Fifita was never going to be at peak fitness but his 45th-minute try was a brutal exhibition of power. With his right knee heavily strapped, Fifita was well contained in the first half. But after the break, he got a sniff, charging onto a Tom Dearden short pass and crashing over to give the Broncos hope at 20-10. Fifita will join the Gold Coast next year on a $3.5 million deal. Titans culture boss Mal Meninga would have cheered when Fifita steamrolled Souths pivot Cody Walker.
TOM ON SONG
Rookie Broncos halfback Tom Dearden tried his heart out.
The blond-haired dynamo has impressive composure for a 19-year-old and he has provided more shape to Brisbane’s offence since being thrust into the Broncos halfback hot seat three weeks ago.
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Dearden showed he is not afraid to dig into the line straightening the attack. His 19th-minute bust, taking on the Souths line, directly led to Brisbane’s opening try to Herbie Farnworth, but Dearden was let down by his big boppers.
Originally published as Brisbane Broncos out gunned, out classed and out played by Rabbitohs