Broncos show intent with opening night win

v BYE

Brisbane have shown they will be the team to beat in 2016 after a strong opening round win against Parramatta to run out 17-4 victors in front of 17,324 fans at Pirtek Stadium.

Having gone agonisingly close to winning last year's Grand Final, the Broncos wasted little time asserting their credentials with a strong first half showing against a new look Eels outfit.

Despite both sides coming up with errors early, Brisbane opened the scoring courtesy of a try to Jordan Kahu in the 14th minute. With Ben Hunt delivering a well-timed cut-out pass the New Zealand international was able to expose an overlap to give the visitors an first points.

Electing to take a penalty goal midway through the first half, Wayne Bennett's outfit extended their lead almost immediately courtesy of a bullocking run from Corey Oates who kicked ahead for Anthony Milford to take the score to 10-0 after 25 minutes.

Needing to respond, the Eels were able to take advantage of a knock-on from Broncos debutant Greg Eden. After some good lead up work to spread the ball to the right, former Manly flyer Clinton Gutherson touched down to score his first points for Parramatta in the 31st minute.

With Jordan Kahu going off with a quad injury a reshuffle forced Alex Glenn into the centres, however it was of little consequence as Corey Oates touched down just before the breaking, once again exposing the Eels right edge defence.

With Corey Parker managing just one conversion in the first half, the Eels were still in the contest but faced an uphill battle with Corey Norman going off after sustaining heavy contact just before the break.

Already without Kieran Foran, who withdrew with a calf injury, primary playmaking responsibility fell on Luke Kelly as the Eels looked to get back in the contest.

Having limited opportunities in the first half, new recruit Michael Jennings appeared to score ten minutes into the second half, but following review from the NRL bunker, a double movement call denied the Eels an opportunity to hit back.

Electing to take a penalty goal to take the scoreline to 16-4, both sides struggled to take advantage of each others mistakes, however a late field-goal from Anthony Milford saw the Broncos emerge 17-4 victors.

Impressing early with several clinical attacking raids, the Broncos showed they will be a force to be reckoned with in 2016, but as they did in last year's decider an inability to conjure points late in the match may prove telling in weeks to come.

For the Eels, the loss of their first choice halves meant they were unable to mount any strong pressure on the Broncos. However a strong defensive performance in the second half will give Brad Arthur reason to be optimistic for the season ahead.

While the full extent of Kieran Foran and Corey Norman's injuries are unknown at this stage, Jordan Kahu is likely to miss the next four weeks.

Parramatta host the reigning premiers North Queensland next Saturday night, while Brisbane will return to Suncorp Stadium to take on the New Zealand Warriors on Friday.