Panthers v Broncos preview
7 hours ago | Rhys Sullivan
Brisbane Broncos v Newcastle Knights
Suncorp Stadium - Friday 7:35pm
Can "Brick wall Brisbane" continue their smothering efforts? Or Will the Knights wake up from their slumber?
Brisbane continued their brilliant run under Wayne Bennett on Sunday afternoon with a brutal win over rivals Melbourne. The Broncos had to make over 400 tackles and 11 line drop outs, yet were still able to smother the Storm into submission en route to a 14-12 win. This was all done without origin stars Corey Parker and Justin Hodges who were both rested. They have both been recalled and will further boost the chances of the Broncos quest to stay in the top 4 and also stay on the top of the ladder. Sam Thaiday has been rested and this will surely have him roaring to go in Origin 3 in only a few weeks.
Brisbane's defence has been the cornerstone of their success in 2015 so far and this isn't going to change anytime soon. The way they have repelled some of the best attacking teams in the competition has been very impressive and there is a big possibility that this could guide them all the way to the first Sunday in October. Wayne Bennett has done it 7 times previously and would love to venture to an 8th grand final in 2015.
The Knights are in free fall at the moment and it's really worrying. After rushing out of the blocks in the first 4 weeks, things have gone from bad to worse to downright horrible. Just 1 win in their last 10 matches paints an ugly story of their season so far. Even last week when it appeared the Knights might have finally turned the corner by getting out to a 22-12 lead against Cronulla early in the 2nd half, they managed to blow the lead and the match. 3 tries in 6 minutes against the normally void of attack Sharks added more woes to Rick Stone and his coaching staff. To compound matters, they will be without big prop Kade Snowden and Chris Houston (suspension and injury respectively) which sees them lose some size. In comes Paterika Vaivai to start at prop and Sam Mataora on the bench.
If the Knights want to win this game and pull themselves away from the foot of the table then their game needs to be based on defence. That was their module for success at the beginning of the season where they only conceded 62 points in the first 5 rounds at an average of just over 12 points a game. Since then they have leaked 260 points in 10 games at an average of 26 points a game. If they can fix up their defence then their attacking weapons that they have in their back line will ensure they get enough points to win the game. However against Brisbane it won't be easy.
Last Meeting: Brisbane 31 Newcastle 18 at Hunter Stadium, Round 11, 2015
Brisbane have already beaten the Broncos so far this season. This was during the origin round where Anthony Milford and the rest of the baby Broncs ran riot in the second half. Brisbane have a good track record against the Nova Castrians with 7 wins out of the past 9 and lead the overall match record 30 games to 13. The odds are stacked against the Knights, especially at Lang Park where they have won just 5 of 15 matches (their last win was a 26-18 victory in 2013). Looking further back into the history books when Brisbane used to play at ANZ Stadium, the Knights had an 0-5 record. So grim reading for you Newcastle folk when playing in Brisbane.
Who To Watch: Brisbane's defence has been the focal point of media reports this past week, however their attack has also been sublime in recent weeks. The combination between Ben Hunt and Anthony Milford has been very exciting to watch. Milford in particular is really starting to find his feet in the halves. After a rough start to his Brisbane career, Milford who has been shown faith by coach Wayne Bennett has really stepped up his game a notch. His kicking game (particularly short kicking game) has improved ten fold since the beginning of 2015. However his most valuable trait is his immense speed and vision for his outside men. If Newcastle aren't turned on defensively on Friday then Milford will burn them with his pace and silky ball handling skills. He is a real joy to watch and will no doubt be be bringing the Suncorp faithful to their feet with some enterprising play on Friday evening.
For the Nova Castrians they need some attacking impetus from the back. They have tried Kurt Gidley, Dane Gagai at the Fullback position and now young gun Jake Mamo is the latest to get his shot. Mamo was one the Knights best on Sunday running for over 150 metres, using his incredible acrobatic skills to set up one of the tries of the season for team mate Carlos Tumivave and breaking countless tackles. He has a lot of speed and youthful exuberance that hopefully he can rub off on to his team mates. Mamo can be an excitement machine and with a bit of luck we will see him in some space come Friday night and he can bring a smile back to the poor faces of Newcastle fans everywhere. Expecting him to make a big impact with his kick returns especially if Milford and Hunt's kicking games are off like they were early on against the Storm last week.
The Favourite: Easy this one. Brisbane big big favourites. At home and are 1st whilst the despondent Knights are languishing in 15th and out of form badly.
My Tip: Everything points to a Broncos win-Great form, home crowd advantage, better roster. Yet I'm going to go out on a limb and tip the Knights in this clash. If they lose this they can kiss away any finals hopes for 2015. I guess we'll see how desperate they are. Things have to turn around soon for the Knights I fancy they will bounce back on the back of a strong effort from their forward pack.
Knights by 4
1. Darius Boyd 2. Jordan Kahu 3. Jack Reed 4. Justin Hodges 5. Lachlan Maranta 6. Anthony Milford 7. Ben Hunt 8. Josh McGuire 9. Andrew McCullough 10. Adam Blair 11. Alex Glenn 12. Matt Gillett 13. Corey Parker
Interchange: 14. Jarrod Wallace 15. Mitchell Dodds 16. Corey Oates 17. Matt Parcell
1. Jake Mamo 2. James McManus 3. Sione Mata'utia 4. Dane Gagai 5. Akuila Uate 6. Carlos Tuimavave 7. Kurt Gidley 8. Paterika Vaivai 9. Tyler Randell 10. Korbin Sims 11. Beau Scott 12. Tariq Sims 13. Robbie Rochow
Interchange: 14. Danny Levi 15. Sam Mataora 16. Joseph Tapine 17. Clint Newton
Referees: Jared Maxwell, Matt Noyen; Sideline Officials: Ricky MacFarlane, Clayton Sharpe; Video Referees: Bernard Sutton, Luke Phillips;