NRL 2022: Adam Doueihi stars as Wests Tigers stun Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium
The Broncos’ hopes of a top four finish have taken a massive hit, and their premiership credentials are now under question after a dismal home collapse to the lowly Tigers.
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Brisbane’s top-four hopes suffered a blow as the bumbling Broncos copped a stinging premiership wake-up call with a shock 32-18 capitulation to a plucky Wests Tigers outfit at Suncorp Stadium.
Before 32,909 fans, the magic of Brisbane’s pounding of Parramatta last week was tempered by the misery of a dismal home collapse to the lowly Tigers which sent the Broncos tumbling out of the top four.
To compound their plight, Broncos lock Pat Carrigan was placed on report in the dying minutes for a tackle on Tigers utility Jackson Hastings.
Buoyed by 10 wins from their past 12 games, the Broncos were red-hot favourites to thrash the last-placed Tigers, but they had their pants pulled down by a Wests side that was simply sharper and hungrier.
Stung by last week’s devastating last-second loss to the Cowboys, the Tigers roared, overcoming a 12-6 first-half deficit with three tries in a 12-minute blitz to take a shock 24-12 lead with half an hour to play.
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A rampaging Jordan Riki try in the 58th minute gave Brisbane hope, but brilliant Adam Doueihi’s solo try four minutes from time buried the Broncos and snapped a seven-game losing streak.
The Broncos have fallen to fifth behind Melbourne on percentages and they must regroup quickly for a daunting road trip to Sydney against the resurgent Roosters on Thursday night.
“There was plenty of effort, but in crucial moments, they were better than us,” Broncos coach Kevin Walters said. “There were a few moments where they won the battle … and they won the war.”
SLOPPY BRONCOS
Chasing their seventh consecutive win at Suncorp, Brisbane’s body language was flat and their lack of energy was telling as Tigers ballrunners made cheap metres in midfield.
The Tigers’ woeful first-half completion rate helped Brisbane to a 12-6 lead inside 27 minutes, but alarm bells rang when Jock Madden crossed two minutes before the break to level scores 12-all at halftime.
Two tries by the visitors in four minutes after halftime — the second while Brisbane halfback Adam Reynolds was taken off for a HIA — proved a matchwinning period for the gutsy Tigers.
“Our execution and discipline let us down,” Reynolds said. “Our ball-handling was pretty poor and the Tigers played really well. They made it tough for us.”
A NIU HOPE
Since his return from a hamstring injury a month ago, Tesi Niu has been one of Brisbane’s standout players. He was a persistent threat against the Tigers, scoring Brisbane’s opening try in the 20th minute with a superb turn of speed to get outside centre Asu Kepaoa before dummying to his winger to crash over.
Niu amassed 154 metres and eight tackle busts, but his crucial 63rd-minute blunder, grassing the ball with Brisbane on the attack, summed up the Broncos’ frustrating night.
DEBUTANT DEINE
Boom teenage centre Deine Mariner showed touches of promise in his Broncos debut.
The highly-rated 19-year-old was quiet early but looked more threatening in the second half. He finished with 127 metres and five tackle busts and while he will rue a late error, his overall performance suggests the explosive Mariner has a long career in the NRL ahead of him.
PAT’S PAIN
Carrigan has been a colossus for the Broncos this season. This wasn’t one of his better nights at the office.
So magnificent for the Maroons during his maiden Origin campaign, the newly-minted Wally Lewis Medallist came crashing back to Earth with an error-riddled display that underlined Brisbane’s woes.
While Carrigan managed 138 metres in attack, he came up with two uncharacteristic errors in the first half. Then, with the game on the line in the second, Carrigan gave away the penalty which edged the Tigers eight points clear, representing the nail in Brisbane’s coffin.
Sliding doors: Kevvie’s close call with Tigers
Kevin Walters has revealed he once applied to coach Wests Tigers, but says their rejection was the Sliding Doors moment that put him on the path to clinching his dream job at the Broncos.
As he prepares for Saturday night’s clash against the Tigers at Suncorp Stadium, Walters told News Corp he made overtures to the joint-venture club in a bid to replace Tim Sheens following the veteran coach’s sacking in 2012.
At the time, Walters was an assistant to Craig Bellamy at Melbourne Storm and, then aged 44, believed he was ready to launch his career as a head coach in the NRL.
The Tigers post had appeal. They had NRL superstars Benji Marshall and Robbie Farah on their books and were far from the cellar dwellers they are today, with the Tigers having reached the top four in consecutive seasons in 2010-11 before a 10th-placed finish in 2012 heralded Sheens’ demise.
Walters made it down to the final four candidates and was formally interviewed, but Tigers bosses opted for Michael Potter, who was ultimately axed after two poor seasons at Concord.
While disappointed by the knock back, Walters refused to give in and finally got his big break a decade later at the Broncos.
The long and winding journey to Brisbane’s throne has been worth the wait for Walters, who has reignited the Broncos and can cement their place in the top four by rubbing further salt into the Tigers’ wounds at Suncorp.
“There is some history there (with the Tigers) … I applied to coach them in 2013,” Walters said. “I certainly went for that job.
“I felt I was ready at the time (to be an NRL head coach), I was as ready as I was ever going to be in my mind.
“I had been an assistant coach for 10 years at that point. I had been overseas to do some coaching in the Super League (with Catalans in 2009-10), but I guess you never know if you are ready until you get slotted into the hot seat.”
Some would suggest Walters dodged a bullet in missing out on the Wests Tigers job.
From day dot, the joint venture has been riven with factionalism, a by-product of the merger between Wests and Balmain, and, incredibly, has failed to play finals since Sheens’ initial departure in 2012.
During that period, the strife-torn Tigers have churned through five coaches — Sheens, Potter, Jason Taylor, Ivan Cleary and Michael Maguire — and Walters could have easily been part of the bloodletting.
By contrast, Walters fits the Broncos’ DNA like a velvet glove. And the Broncos have deep pockets. While he endured a turbulent start last season, Walters knows the Broncos are the NRL’s richest club with a $53 million empire that ensures its coaching staff and players want for nothing plotting success out of their opulent $27 million training base at Red Hill.
“The Tigers job certainly had appeal,” Walters said.
“They still had a strong roster there, they had blokes like Benji and Robbie Farah and they had been well coached by Tim Sheens.
“There aren’t many positions available in the NRL so you have to take an opportunity when it’s there and I saw a chance to coach the Tigers.
“I had an interview with the Tigers, but I missed out and they went with Mick Potter.
“It was naturally disappointing, but it has worked out great for me. I’ve learnt a lot about myself as a coach over the past decade or so.
“I am really happy to have my dream job at the Broncos and it’s great to see our progress this season.”
There is a view that Walters has not been the true architect of Brisbane’s revival this season.
Critics of the coach suggest marquee halfback recruit Adam Reynolds has his fingerprints all over Brisbane’s game plans and that fellow import Kurt Capewell has driven tougher standards acquired from his premiership-winning stint at top dogs Penrith.
But Broncos football boss Ben Ikin launched a passionate defence of Walters, saying the former champion five-eighth, who won five premierships as a player, has struck the right balance between fun, coaching and delegation.
“Kev will be the first to admit he hasn’t done this rebuild on his own,” Ikin said.
“But what he has done as good as anyone I have seen is engage support from other people who have skills and talents right across the footy program.
“The fact that Kevvie identified Reynolds, went after him and got him to the club speaks for itself.
“The great Jack Gibson (coaching icon) said way back in the 1980s that the best coaches are the best recruiters. Know how you want, know what you need and go and get it and Kevvie did that.
“If Kevvie felt threatened or diminished in any way because Reyno is having a stack of input, it all dies a slow death. If he doesn’t let Kurt Capewell be the bearer of standards the way that he has, then the culture doesn’t shift in the direction you want it to.
“As a head coach, that takes great ego strength.
“Any bastard can be a control freak and jump up and down and make it all about them, but it takes humility and emotional intelligence to appreciate other people’s talents and let them bring what they can bring,”
Walters’ first pledge was to bring unity to the fractured Broncos. Ikin says he has succeeded.
“Kevvie doesn’t push people away,” he said.
“He knows what he stands for and he controls his environment, but what’s happening at the Broncos is that everyone is feeling part of it and therefore you get the best of everyone.
“There are some days where I come to work and I wish I was as passionate as Kevvie. To use all his footy IQ and his passion for the Broncos, to get a whole heap of people connected and on board, rowing in the same direction, is testament to his ability and his character.
“I look around the club and you don’t know what comes first, having fun or the winning, but I know at the moment, I see a lot of people at the Broncos turning up to work with a smile, wanting to be there. It’s a great feeling … and Kevvie is at the heart of it all.”
Billy on cusp of new Broncos deal
Billy Walters is set to clinch a new deal at the Broncos as the clever Brisbane utility prepares to face his former Wests Tigers club on Saturday night.
News Corp can reveal the Broncos have kicked-off negotiations with Walters, who returns from a one-week lay-off with a hip injury for the round 20 showdown at Suncorp Stadium.
Walters joined the Broncos this season after an injury-ravaged two-year stint at the Tigers and remains off contract six weeks out from the finals, raising concerns over whether salary-cap pressures could force him out of Red Hill.
But Brisbane’s recruitment-and-retention committee have included Walters in their plans as they work through the composition of their 2023 roster.
Broncos coach Kevin Walters said his son will remain at the club next season, with the 28-year-old expected to ink a two-year extension in the coming weeks, reward for his contribution to Brisbane’s finals charge.
“Billy is off-contract but there’s a couple of guys we plan to re-sign soon,” Walters senior said. “We certainly want to keep Billy, he’s done some good things for us this year.
“Billy has only had about 15 games at hooker in the NRL, so he is still learning about the position. He is coming along nicely, we are happy with his progress.”
Walters, the son of a Broncos gun, has proved a valuable member of Brisbane’s starting 17, dislodging first-choice rake Jake Turpin.
After starting the season at five-eighth, Walters‘ shift to hooker in round seven kickstarted Brisbane’s form burst as he helped the Broncos to seven consecutive wins with crafty displays out of dummy half.
Walters plays his 30th career match this week and has fought back strongly from his turbulent stint at the Tigers, with whom he played just 10 games after snapping his ACL midway through the 2020 season.
“Bill is a tough kid,” the Broncos coach said.
“He hasn’t had the easiest of pathways, down to Melbourne, up to the Wests Tigers.
“The knee reconstruction was tough on him.
“Most players go through tough times with injury and they have to rehab themselves and get themselves back on the field but Billy was pretty determined about it all.
“To play at this level, you need a fair bit of resilience. Even training in this environment can be pretty physical so he has handled the journey well.”
Walters has struck a successful hooking partnership with super sub Cory Paix at the Broncos. While Walters sees himself as a five-eighth, the Broncos coach believes he is the right fit in the No.9 jumper.
“I am really happy with how Billy is going this year,” Walters said.
“Nine is his best position for our team and he is playing accordingly.
“He is a very reliable and a very competitive young fella, he always has been and it’s coming through in his football.
“I wanted Billy at the Broncos because I liked his competitive spirit, he can cover multiple positions so he has that utility value as well as being a specialist nine.
“Before the knee injury, Billy was very capable and it set him back a bit, which it does for any player, but he has his confidence back now which is good to see.”
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Originally published as NRL 2022: Adam Doueihi stars as Wests Tigers stun Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium
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