Round 1: Brisbane Broncos vs North Queensland Cowboys

[DIEHARD]

Brisbane Broncos vs North Queensland Cowboys

7:30pm Friday March 12 - 2010 - Suncorp Stadium

Tickets: CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS

[DIEHARD]

Anyone going to this derby? North v South.

I probably will be. Hope we get a big crowd, well if the trial crowds around are anything to go by, we should.

[DIEHARD]

Just under 35,000 tickets sold, looks like it is going to be a big one!

[TITAN PETE]

Broncos: Corey Norman, Antonio Winterstein, Gerard Beale, Israel Folau, Denan Kemp, Darren Lockyer (c), Peter Wallace, Nick Kenny, Andrew McCullough, Scott Anderson, Ben Te'o, Sam Thaiday, Corey Parker. Interchange: Alex Glenn, Matt Gillett, Josh McGuire, Mitchell Dodds

Cowboys: Ty Williams, John Williams, Ashley Graham, Willie Tonga, Michael Bani, Grant Rovelli, Johnathan Thurston (c), Matthew Scott, Aaron Payne, Antonio Kaufusi, Scott Bolton, Steve Southern, Luke O?Donnell. Interchange: Anthony Watts, Steve Rapira, Willie Mason, Manase Manuokafoa, Carl Webb, James Tamou

[DIEHARD]

Good to see Kemp back. Hope he goes well.

Weird to see such an inexperienced Broncos side, especially for Round 1.

[Supergoose]

Definitely agree with Diehard - it is wierd to see such an inexperienced Broncos side but their starting pack is fairly good and their backline is quick. The Cowboys are huge though and while their backline mightn't be as quick it is still potent while being orchestrated by Thurston. the forward pack is a monster and interest really lies in who will miss out. Southern must be counting his lucky stars to be starting. I hope Tamou and Rapira get a guernsey as they were excellent last season and I enjoy watching them both play.

[DIEHARD]

Only 3,000 tickets left for this game. Looks like a sell out and everyone is talking about it around town.

I wish I could go but I am broke.

Tipping the Cowboys in a tough one.

[DIEHARD]

Broncos v Cowboys
Suncorp Stadium Friday 7.35pm (Qld time)

If you are a Queenslander, living north of the border in tropical Queensland, then you can?t possibly be in a better place to start your footy year.

The now-traditional opening of the NRL season (even if it?s an hour behind the NSW game thanks to daylight savings? or lack thereof) never disappoints and signifies a new year?s battle between two of the three Queensland powerhouse teams.

Many pundits are tipping the Broncos will miss the finals for the first time in 19 years, which in itself provides great motivation to start well. Meanwhile, the Cowboys have been massive underachievers for the past two seasons, failing to qualify for end-of-year footy, which also grates at their squad.

Brisbane?s trial form consisted of a solid 24-12 win over Melbourne, a 32-24 win over Canberra and a 30-20 win over Redcliffe, giving them some nice momentum.

They have picked some youngsters like Gerard Beale in the centres and Corey Norman at fullback (no Karmichael Hunt, remember) ? the next line of stars in the Brisbane production line.

The Cowboys on the other hand started the trials with a 28-4 loss to the Wests Tigers, and then fell 28-6 to the Warriors before picking up a 22-4 win over the Gold Coast.

Ty Williams is officially taking the injured Matt Bowen?s place at fullback and Willie Mason looks set to get a start from the bench, barring a late cull by coach Neil Henry.

Watch out Broncos: The Cowboys? bench, whichever way they choose to go, looks set to have some real impact. Anthony Watts brings utility value as he can play hooker, in the halves or even out wide. But it?s the five big units named which could pose a problem for the Broncos.

Steve Rapira, Willie Mason, Manase Manuokafoa, Carl Webb and James Tamou are all wrecking machines when they have an ?on? day and when they fire it can draw curtains on the opposition.

Two of them will probably miss out, but those who play will be well aware of the competition behind them for spots, making their impact potentially even more damaging.

Watch out Cowboys: Youth brings inexperience, but it also brings exuberance. The Broncos? squad is certainly less imposing on paper than previous seasons ? but when the likes of Steve Renouf and Darren Lockyer started playing for the Broncos they looked raw then, too. Norman at fullback, Denan Kemp on the wing, Beale at centre? they might seem a little thin but essentially these kids are playing for their lives. They want to be NRL players, and you don?t get the chance forever. If they can overcome the nerves and play their natural games (not easy in front of a packed house), they could prove very dangerous ? especially given the Cowboys will know very little about them.

Mitchell Dodds and Matt Gillett are others to push more established first graders out of the side. They will know it takes a good showing to stay there.

Where it will be won: The Johnathan Thurston- Darren Lockyer show is the crucial spectacle in this match. Two Queensland legends on opposite sides of the coin will have the most influence on their side?s chance at victory.

The Cowboys notoriously struggle without Thurston hitting his straps; he?ll need to be at his best.

For the Broncos, their young, less-imposing forward pack will need to gain inspiration from their skipper. He will be pleading with his engine room to create space so he can weave his magic, and if they do, the old dog still has plenty of tricks.

Without the help of Karmichael Hunt this year, Lockyer and his scrum-base partner Peter Wallace need to create more. Both Lockyer and Thurston love to switch the attack to the blind side, so defence lines need to be awake even should the ball appear to be heading away from them.

And if the Broncos? video session didn?t contain at least one reference to Thurston?s ?show-and-go? then the coaching staffers at Red Hill have been asleep for five years.

The History: Played 27; Broncos 21, Cowboys 4, drawn 2. The Broncos obviously have the wood on the Cowboys in the overall stats and they have also won the past five matches against the Cowboys.

However, at Suncorp the ledger is fairly close, with Brisbane leading 3-2 from five matches. Last season the corresponding game was decided by a solitary point and the return match had just six in it, such was the closeness of the sides.

Conclusion: The smell of a close-fought crackerjack match is in the air. Thurston gives the Cowboys a real hope of starting the year with a win, as he loves a big game atmosphere. But the baby Broncos will be pumped to give their fans an almighty first-up showing.

If the Brisbane forward pack can aim up then they can manufacture victory; if not, Thurston?s class will win the day.

Match officials: Referees ? Jared Maxwell & Gerard Sutton; Sideline Officials ? David Abood & Phil Haines; Video Ref ? Tim Mander.

Televised: Channel 9 ? Live from 7.30pm (Qld), delayed 9.30pm (NSW). Fox Sports 2 ? Delayed 1am Sat.

Source: http://www.nrl.com

[GOATUS]

anyone else think that first try was bull**** thaiday obstructed tonga but thats how the broncos roll i guess

[titansrawesome]

no it was a fair try, that was a great game i nearly got the margin right for tipping i was 1 point off.

[Blazertaser]

anyone else think that first try was bull**** thaiday obstructed tonga but thats how the broncos roll i guess

The first try was brilliant. #1 broncos move by far, thaiday did not deliberately run into him, your going off a biased opinion there. This game was absolutely amazing, great way to start off the competition and showing the standard of teams this year.
The sheer quality of thurston nearly out-smarted the broncos, but the inexperienced players really proved to be a tough force this year. The speed and quality of denan kemp is amazing, and yes, gordan did play a very well game as the new fullback, i still firmly beleive kemp deserved "Player of the match"
Looking forward to titans v broncos match, going to be a beauty!!!!

[TITAN PETE]

I think the try was fair & it was a pretty good match but JT showed how easily he turned that massive lead into nothing ...the Broncos better wrap Lockyer in cotton wool because if they lose him for any length of time they will chase the spoon as these younger guys will struggle to play to play 80 minutes week in week out.

What was the go with the young fullback Norman who has some sort of media ban even though he was Man of the Match

[Blazertaser]

I think the try was fair & it was a pretty good match but JT showed how easily he turned that massive lead into nothing ...the Broncos better wrap Lockyer in cotton wool because if they lose him for any length of time they will chase the spoon as these younger guys will struggle to play to play 80 minutes week in week out.

What was the go with the young fullback Norman who has some sort of media ban even though he was Man of the Match

In recent games in previous seasons, ive seen the man of the match still go to the losing team, and i think this should of been one of those exceptions. Thurston proved to the competition last night that no matter what score they have against them at half time, the tables can be turned quite easily.

I remember a couple years back, cronulla was up 28-0 at half time (i think it was against the panthers but im not to sure) and panthers came back to win that 30-28. As i said up there ^^^ Anything could be upturned in the second half, no matter what the score, so dont give up hope until the fat lady sings

[DIEHARD]

Interesting game! The thought the Cowboys looks good early on then it just all went to hell and they were rubbish. Thurston single handedly pulled them out of the fire, he was everywhere. And it ended up being a great finish.

Young Norman was brilliant and has bucket loads of potential. He is from the Gold Coast right?

Great crowd as well and the return of Mason was a tasty sub plot.

I think the Broncos might be a bit underrated, their attack looked very slick, especially for this time of the season.

[Blazertaser]

Interesting game! The thought the Cowboys looks good early on then it just all went to hell and they were rubbish. Thurston single handedly pulled them out of the fire, he was everywhere. And it ended up being a great finish.

Young Norman was brilliant and has bucket loads of potential. He is from the Gold Coast right?

Great crowd as well and the return of Mason was a tasty sub plot.

I think the Broncos might be a bit underrated, their attack looked very slick, especially for this time of the season.

Cowboys looked very good in first ten minutes or so, and i think they will consist with that throughout the competition. Some particular teams could be beat within that time if their spirits are dropped from first sight of cowboys. Broncos kept their heads held high up until about the 50th minute, than it just went downhill from there. And yet, they still persisted through a 24 point onslaught from the cowboys, to create brilliant speed for kemp to run down the line.

As the commentators were saying "Karmichael who", you still have to give credit to hunt, yes he has gone to AFL now but no team should forget the quality of his performance every game he was on the field. Bronc's are lucky to have such a potentially excellent fullback like gordon to rely on.

Blazer