Source :- THE AGE NEWS
As questions about their premiership credentials circled on the back of two straight defeats, Adam Reynolds issued a stern reminder to the rest of the NRL that the Brisbane Broncos had the makings of a genuine heavyweight.
But coach Michael Maguire will face an anxious wait on the fate of the little master, after he left the field with five minutes remaining nursing a shoulder concern.
Adam Reynolds gets assessed by a trainer after scoring for the Brisbane Broncos against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.Credit: NRL Photos
Heading into their shock 42-18 demolition of the previously undefeated Bulldogs, Canterbury-Bankstown had conceded just 58 points in their opening six games. By halftime, they had let in 34.
Reynolds was at the heart of it, despite at one stage looking like another injury had occurred when he clutched in agony at his shoulder in the act of scoring, before copping another hit and leaving late.
“I’ll have a look at it and go from there, but it feels OK at the moment. It went dead with pins and needles, it was sort of burning; the last one felt pretty bad, worse than when I scored the try. I’ll get back to the club and see what they say, but the aim is to play the game [next week].”
Adam Reynolds
By the break, the 34-year-old added weight to the argument he needed to forgo retirement at the end of his 2025 – a try, three assists, a 40/20 and forced dropout.
His teammates around him fed off his enthusiasm and class. By the break, Payne Haas, Pat Carrigan and Xavier Willison – who scored in his new edge forward role within two minutes – had surpassed 100 running metres.
Reynolds only enhanced his reputation as one of the best short kickers in the game, his chip kicks in broken play for Deine Mariner to score a double sensational.
Ben Hunt played his role alongside him soundly, bouncing back from a shocker against the Warriors last week to play a steadier hand and lay on a try assist for Jesse Arthars to cross in the corner.
“There was a great play there when he dived on a loose ball, that was a massive play for us. He’s an experienced player, every now, and then you don’t get the game you like, but he bounced back. We put our plays on, and I felt our game in the first half is what we’ve been chasing.”
Michael Maguire on Ben Hunt
Willison’s new role?
Last year there were question marks surrounding the Broncos’ middle rotation, and even this year there had been concerns that outside of Haas and Carrigan, they lacked the prop depth to make a full season impact.
While Willison’s shift to the edge to accommodate for the absent Jack Gosiewski (fractured arm) and Jordan Riki (staph infection) limited their stocks even further, the hulking 22-year-old may have found a home in the back row.
The Kiwi product proved a nightmare to contend on Thursday night, hitting holes off Reynolds strongly to finish with 151 running metres, while also making 19 tackles for just one miss under his new defensive demands.
Xavier Willison scores for the Brisbane Broncos against the Bulldogs.Credit: NRL Photos
The fact he stood out while Haas made an incredible 255 metres and 32 tackles for no misses was a sign of how he rose to the occasion.
But the Broncos issue will be if he remains there, even when Riki returns, who fills the void through the middle?
While Corey Jensen has been talismanic off the interchange, without Willison there is a distinct lack of size replacing Haas and Carrigan.
Ben Te Kura looms as that option, with the NRL’s tallest player building into his season in the Queensland Cup, culminating in last week’s performance for Souths Logan in which he played 60 minutes and ran for 164 metres and six tackle busts.
Whatever Maguire decides, Willison has proven he has the versatility to be a huge asset.
“He’s going well at the moment, it takes a bit of time to understand your lines with your halves. Reyno and Hunty have spent a bit of time with him, but also the defensive side of it he moves well for a big fella.”
Michael Maguire
They started the year as top dogs. Where to now?
From the opening minute, this did not look like the Bulldogs who had taken the competition by storm.
An early error gave the Broncos their first try, and two sin bins for some appalling defensive moves – Josh Curran and Sitili Tupouniua both leading with the shoulder and connecting with the head without an attempt to wrap the arms – resulting in 20 minutes in the opening half with 12 men.
The Bulldogs were blown off the park in the first half by the Brisbane Broncos.Credit: NRL Photos
Just 12 minutes into the second half, Marcelo Montoya was also given his marching orders shortly after finally getting the Bulldogs on the board.
To their credit, they showed tremendous character in the second stanza, scoring through a brilliant take from Jacob Kiraz in the air, who found Jacob Preston to score still without Montoya.
Bronson Xerri narrowed the hap with eight minutes remaining, and the Bulldogs did not break until a late penalty goal and a Billy Walters try off a Cory Paix grubber with the final play.
But the damage had already been done. Hooker Reed Mahoney, the contender to replace Harry Grant for the Queensland Maroons should he fail to recover from a hamstring strain, played just 45 minutes and failed to register a run.
However, coach Cameron Ciraldo said that was due to the performance of Bailey Hayward off the bench.
“I didnt’ feel like we were off, we made it hard on ourselves in the first 20 minutes. If we gift possession like that to a quality team like the Broncos they’re going to make you pay. There are a lot of lessons we can take in starting a game.”
Bulldogs captain Stephen Crichton
No Walsh? No worries for Cobbo
Selwyn Cobbo was shifted to fullback in place of the injured Reece Walsh, and the market value of the off contract star may have just skyrocketed.
A more physically intimidating prospect, Cobbo kept things simple in the No.1 jumper, leaning heavily into his straight running game while maintaining his unbeaten run in the role.
Selwyn Cobbo on the charge for the Brisbane Broncos.Credit: NRL Photos
His run across the field to shake off a tackle, before straightening up and finding Gehamat Shibasaki to score, showcased what he could do with more roaming freedom as he finished with 145 running metres and four tackle busts.
While he appeared to be battling a shoulder injury, Cobbo saw out the contest – even forcing a dropout in the final minute which led to Walters’ try – and Maguire will be praying he stays fit with Walsh not due back for four to six weeks.
“Selly was good, along with the guys up front too. Selly did a great job in the short turnaround we had, I think he enjoys the open space the big fella, but I thought our forwards laid a really good platform.”
Michael Maguire
