Round 21: Brisbane Broncos vs Manly Sea Eagles

[Queenslander]

Brisbane Broncos vs Manly Sea Eagles
Suncorp Stadium; Sunday 5th August, 3:00PM


http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/9011/broncos20ue0.jpgvshttp://premier.ticketek.com.au/dbimages/sfx11944.jpg


Referee: Ben Cummins

Team Notes:

Broncos

- This game will be used to celebrate the Broncos 20th season

- Justin Hodges returns from injury to take his place in the centres with Darius Boyd replacing Denan Kemp at Fullback

- The game could have a further inclusion with Michael Ennis set to return at halfback if he passes a fitness test later on in the week.


Sea Eagles

- Coach Des Hasler has named Steve Menzies at centre in place of the injured Steve Matai.

- Added to the six man bench is Matt Ballin, Clint Halden and Jason Wells.


Teams:

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1. Darius Boyd
2. Steve Michaels
3. Nick Emmett
4. Justin Hodges
5. Craig Frawley
6. Tonie Carroll
7. Shane Perry
8. Ben Hannant
9. Shaun Berrigan
10. Petero Civoniceva (c)
11. Corey Parker
12. Brad Thorn
13. Greg Eastwood

Interchange:

14. Dane Carlaw
15. Dave Taylor
16. Ian Lacey
17. Sam Thaiday



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1. Brett Stewart
2. Michael Robertson
3. Steve Bell
4. Steve Menzies
5. Chris Hicks
6. Jamie Lyon
7. Matt Orford (c)
8. Mark Bryant
9. Michael Monaghan
10. Brent Kite
11. Anthony Watmough
12. Glenn Stewart
13. Luke Williamson

Interchange:

14. Matt Ballin
15. Glenn Hall
16. Adam Cuthbertson
17. Jack Afamasaga
18. Clint Halden
19. Jason Wells (two players to be omitted)

[Queenslander]

Broncos face test in next three weeks

Monday, July 30, 2007 - 3:16 PM

Premiers Brisbane are looking forward to testing themselves against frontrunners Melbourne and Manly in the run to the NRL finals, says Broncos forward Sam Thaiday.

The fifth-placed Broncos gained much confidence from scoring five tries in beating Cronulla 30-16 without injured skipper Darren Lockyer on Sunday.

But they face a tough run home and Thaiday warned the real test was looming as they come up against second-placed Manly, competition leaders Melbourne and the perennially-strong Bulldogs in the next three weeks.

"It was good to see we can still score tries without Locky (Darren Lockyer) setting up every try," said Thaiday.

"A lot of our tries were good team tries as so it was really good for our confidence.

"It will be a good tester for us to play a top side because we do have Melbourne and the Bulldogs coming up as well who are also playing good football and who are tough teams.

"It's going to be a good challenge playing against the tough sides and see how we really go against them."

"If we do end up in the top eight, they'll be the sides we have to face in the semis," said Thaiday, still getting back to top fitness following eye and ankle injuries.

"It's good to have a hit out now against them and see how we go now, then hopefully come the semis, when we have a few players back, we can go even better."

Stand-in five-eighth Tonie Carroll is expected to play against Manly after suffering a pinched nerve in his neck at the weekend.

Carroll had been smashing the Sharks defenders in tackles when he copped an accidental hit in the neck from teammate Dave Taylor.

"He was whacking blokes, a few people were whacking blokes," said Thaiday.

"Little Ian Lacey was hitting blokes twice his size.

"We've been feeding off those things out there on the field, when someone puts in a big hit or a good run we've been building on that."

Brisbane is anticipating a crowd of more than 40,000 for Sunday's 20 year tribute match to celebrate the Broncos' first game in 1988 against the Sea Eagles, which they won 44-10.

"There's a big buzz about this game," said Thaiday who was two years old when Wally Lewis led out the first Brisbane side at Lang Park.

"It was going to be a big game anyway without that and Manly are playing very well so it should be a great game."

Source: AAP

[HodgoBerro]

Hodges Hits Go Button For Manly
by Trad McLean
Tuesday July 31, 2007

JUSTIN Hodges will return to the rugby league field on Sunday in a match he hopes will pay tribute to the historical dominance of the Ergon Energy Broncos.

The Broncos face Manly – the team they decimated 44-10 in their debut game back in 1988 – at Suncorp Stadium in a major celebration of the club’s 20-year anniversary.

And Hodges, who has missed three games with a hamstring injury, said it was up to the current playing staff to honour the teams of old.

“It is going to be one of those special days,” said Hodges after training at full pace for the first time in a month.

“It will be a great occasion for the older guys who built the club. I just hope we can continue that.”

The majority of the first team from back in 1988 will attend the game and be introduced to the crowd on Sunday.

Hodges had all but begged coach Wayne Bennett to let him play in last week’s 30-16 victory over Cronulla.

But in hindsight he said he was happy to have waited the extra time, as he is jumping out of his skin to get back on the field.

The enforced lay-off has taken any fatigue associated with the Origin series away.

“I really wanted to play against the Sharks but it is always good to go one more week with hamstrings,” he said.

“It was awesome today. It was my first full run and I didn’t feel it at all.

“I feel really fresh. After Origin I was coming to training and not wanting to be there.

“Now I am running around like a little kid. I am fully fit, 100 per cent.”

The good news for the Broncos is they have dropped just the one match since Hodges hurt himself.

However they are locked in a tight finals race, sitting on 22 points, in equal fourth with the Warriors, Bulldogs, Tigers and Cowboys.

The Test centre said the victory over the Sharks had shown the team is not dead yet.

“There is a lot of talk about us trying to win without Darren Lockyer,” said Hodges.

“But we have some great forwards who can lead us, and hopefully the backs can do it from there.”

The Broncos had a special visitor today with Australian cricket batsman Andrew Symonds training with the team.

Symonds said he was trying to do some extra fitness work before the national side goes to the upcoming 20-20 World Cup.

“It’s good fun and a bit of cross training and its good to see how skilful and
strong these blokes are,” said Symonds.

Wayne Bennett has made just one change to the Broncos’ team that beat the Sharks, with Hodges going straight back to the centres for the injured David Stagg (ankle).

An improvement in Ian Lacey’s knee injury today has convinced Bennett to name him on the bench again, while Michael Ennis is again unavailable because of a shoulder injury.



TEAM TO PLAY MANLY ON SUNDAY:

Darius Boyd
Steve Michaels
Nick Emmett
Justin Hodges
Craig Frawley
Tonie Carroll
Shane Perry
Ben Hannant
Shaun Berrigan
Petero Civoniceva ?
Corey Parker
Brad Thorn
Greg Eastwood
Reserves:

Dane Carlaw
Dave Taylor
Ian Lacey
Sam Thaiday

Source - Brisbane Broncos www.broncos.com.au

[HodgoBerro]

Fantastic News, Hodgo's back!

[Capital_Shark]

Broncos will need more than Hodges to pull 'em outta this one. But after a bit of a hard fought win over Parramatta I don't think Manly will give them the hiding they deserve.

Manly 1-12

[HodgoBerro]

yeah for sure hodgo brings a firepower in the backs

[SuperCliffy#01]

As long as Manly wins by 1 point i will be happy.:woot:

[jenny]

Hodges must keep level head: Bennett

August 4, 2007 - 12:23PM

After almost a month on the sidelines, Broncos centre Justin Hodges is itching to chime back into Brisbane's NRL title defence.

And that's the problem, according to Broncos coach Wayne Bennett.

Bennett admits it is a "danger" that Hodges will be tempted to try too hard to make up for the absence of injured playmaking duo Darren Lockyer (knee, season) and Karmichael Hunt (hamstring, three weeks).

Hodges has been champing at the bit to return from a torn hamstring and will finally get his wish in Sunday's much-hyped 20-year tribute match against Manly at Suncorp Stadium.

It's a big occasion as the Broncos remember their debut match 20 seasons ago against the then-defending champions Manly which the rookies claimed 44-10 in front of a disappointing 17,451-strong Lang Park crowd.

While Bennett tried to play down the game's significance, he was concerned about how Hodges would approach his return.

It's been five years since Hodges' famous brain explosion on Origin debut for Queensland when he twice gifted NSW tries with in-goal passes.

Although not expecting a repeat of his 2002 debacle, Bennett did seem anxious about Hodges' comeback.

"I don't want him to overplay it. I don't want him to think he's got to do some miracle or think that we need him that badly that he does something we don't need at a vital stage of the game," Bennett said.

"If he just does his job like we know he can do, that's all we need from him, not any more."

Bennett said Hodges had been "pushing" to play in recent weeks and wanted the Test centre to keep a level head once he finally ran out on the field.

"It (trying too hard) is a danger for him, that's exactly right," Bennett said.

"But we've been playing good football without him, he's just got to understand that we need him.

"But at the same time he's just got to take a sensible approach to it and doesn't think he's got to do it by himself."

Hodges is expected to sign a four-year contract extension with the Broncos next week.

After impact bench player Ian Lacey (knee) was added to the Broncos' injury list, Bennett admitted "we haven't got a lot of lifting left in us".

"We've just got to get out there and keep doing what we've been doing," he said.

"There's not a lot left there that we can go to another level somewhere.

"We are basically at the level that we need to be at. We've just got to maintain it."

Lacey is replaced on the bench by John Te Reo.

? 2007 AAP

[HodgoBerro]

Jon Te Reo is back - interesting!

[RLfan]

Well now we cross Carroll, Berrigan & Hannant of the team list for next week. At least the younger guys getting a run helps out for next year.

[Capital_Shark]

Was I right in hearing Bennett and Hasler carrying on about player burn out and then referring to Berrigan's injury?

If so I think its a case for MORE games. Perhaps a little more time to learn that your cheek isn't the best choice body part to halt the momentum of a grown man's knee at full pace.