Five things we learned from Brisbane’s win over Penrith

ANOTHER Bunker blunder, Matty Gillett’s friendly fire could have Origin implications, Panthers in turmoil. Here’s what we learned from Brisbane’s win over Penrith.

ANOTHER Bunker blunder, Matty Gillett’s friendly fire could have Origin implications, Panthers in turmoil. Here’s what we learned from Brisbane’s win over Penrith.

1. BRISBANE may have struck up their fourth straight win, but they’re still not at their absolute best. They have won a lot of close games this season and almost let the Panthers back into the Suncorp Stadium clash. A momentum swing in the second half saw Penrith score three quick tries to bring themselves within 10 points of Brisbane, after being down 28-0. The Broncos appeared to take their foot off the pedal when really they should have come out after halftime to finish off the Panthers.

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2. MATT Gillett may have ended James Roberts’ campaign for an Origin I debut. After a stellar first half from the Jet, he was carried from the field with five minutes left on the clock. He appeared to have suffered an ankle injury after his teammate Gillett accidentally kicked him while going in for a tackle. Roberts was pushing for a spot in Laurie Daley’s Blues side but will need a quick recovery to be named in the line-up in three weeks’ time.

James Roberts is carried from the field.

3. JORDAN Kahu should have played himself into a Kiwi jumper. The Broncos winger came up against three fellow backline contenders in Dean Whare, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and Peta Hiku and outplayed each of them. Kahu played a hand in Kodi Nikorima’s 11th minute try, ran for 86m, made four tackle busts and scored a four-pointer for himself just before halftime, flying above Hiku and Nathan Cleary to steal an Anthony Milford bomb.

Kahu was on fire.

4. BRISBANE’S win over South Sydney last week was marred by controversy after some poor refereeing. It kicked off on the same note, after James Tamou was denied a try by the NRL Bunker in confusing circumstances. Peter Wallace was ruled to have knocked on even though the ball was dislodged by Bronco Josh McGuire. The ball also appeared to go backwards. However, the decision ended up having little impact as Brisbane won the match convincingly.

5. THE Panthers’ season officially hit a crisis point as the former premiership favourites sunk to their fifth straight defeat. Despite a late resurgence in the second half, it was a lacklustre performance from Penrith. They missed 37 tackles and made a shocking 15 errors. For the majority of the match, the players just looked like they would rather be anywhere else.

Originally published as Five things we learned from Brisbane’s win over Penrith