Brisbane Broncos vs Canterbury Bulldogs: Live NRL scores, news & SuperCoach analysis

Pat Carrigan has hit back at suggestions the Broncos’ forward pack can’t break their premiership drought, but admits they have to improve as they prepare to take on the undefeated Bulldogs.

Pat Carrigan has rubbished suggestions the Broncos pack isn’t tough enough to win the title as he vowed to make a statement against the red-hot Bulldogs club that tried to poach him.

Brisbane’s forwards are under pressure even from within, with Carrigan’s front-row cohort Corey Jensen revealing coach Michael Maguire has “poked the bear” ahead of Thursday night’s clash against the Bulldogs.

Canterbury will run onto Suncorp Stadium as the form team of the league with a perfect 6-0 record and Maguire has challenged his maligned forwards to muscle up against the Dogs of War.

The Broncos have been accused of being carried by Carrigan and Payne Haas, a reputation that wasn’t helped by last week’s extra-time loss to a Warriors side that outlasted Brisbane in midfield.

But Carrigan hit out at claims from Brisbane’s original enforcer Greg Dowling that the Broncos’ class of 2025 lacks the forward balance to break the club’s 19-year premiership drought.

Pat Carrigan has hit back at suggestions the Broncos dont have the forward pack to break their premiership drought, but admits his side needs to be better when they take on the Bulldogs. Picture: Getty Images

Asked if Brisbane’s pack are a two-man band, Carrigan said: “No, not really. I think they (Brisbane’s pack) are doing a great job.

“In terms of what Kobe (Hetherington) and ‘CJ’ (Jensen) bring to the table, they have been more than doing their job.

“He (coach Maguire) just wants us to be physical in the contest. We have some parameters at the club around our wrestle and those things that we missed the mark on (against the Roosters and Warriors).

“There’s no way of sugar-coating it, if we’re going to be a successful football team, then your front row have to lay the platform.

“So Payne (Haas) and myself know what comes with that. We both have got to be better, too.

“From my perspective, and I’m sure Payne will tell you the same, it just comes with the role (of being enforcers) and we know what we have to deliver, so we’ve got to deliver it this Thursday.”

Carrigan is at the heart of an additional narrative to the Bulldogs Anzac blockbuster - he is one of five Broncos players that Canterbury bosses tried to lure to Belmore in recent years.

Superstar Broncos prop Haas, hardworking lock Hetherington, back-row hit man Brendan Piakura and marquee recruit Ben Hunt were all in the sights of Bulldogs’ recruitment chiefs.

But Carrigan was a major target. In 2019, the Bulldogs were so keen that club legend Chris Anderson was sent on a mission to Brisbane to meet with rookie Carrigan, armed with a three-year, $1 million contract.

Carrigan ultimately stayed loyal to the Broncos, but revealed he seriously considered quitting Brisbane and learning his trade at the Dogs of War.

“I did (think of leaving) a couple of times … it was the foundations of the Broncos and what they were built on (that convinced him to stay),” Carrigan said.

“Similar clubs, passionate fans, big proud organisations and it was an option (to go to the Bulldogs) at the time, but in saying that, I bleed this club through and through and it’s all I ever wanted to do as a kid.”

Originally published as Brisbane Broncos vs Canterbury Bulldogs: Live NRL scores, news & SuperCoach analysis