Round 15: Warriors vs Broncos

[Tamwelg]

	vs
Warriors		Broncos

Sat 21 Jun, 7:30PM Mt Smart Stadium

Sam Tomkins David Fusitua Konrad Hurrell Ngani Laumape Manu Vatuvei Chad Townsend Shaun Johnson Jacob Lillyman Nathan Friend Sam Rapira Jayson Bukuya Simon Mannering Sebastine Ikahihifo   Feleti Mateo Suaia Matagi Charlie Gubb Ben Henry Andrew McFadden

Fullback Wing Centre Centre Wing Five-eighth Halfback Prop Hooker Prop Second Row Second Row Lock   Interchange Interchange Interchange Interchange Coach

Ben Barba Daniel Vidot Jack Reed Dale Copley Lachlan Maranta Josh Hoffman Ben Hunt Josh McGuire Jake Granville Ben Hannant Alex Glenn Corey Oates Todd Lowrie   Jarrod Wallace David Stagg David Hala Francis Molo Anthony Griffin

[TITAN PETE]

Griffin praises beaten, battered Broncos
By Corey Rosser, NZ Correspondent
NRL.com
9:21pm Sat 21st June, 2014


Despite dropping their first points in over a month, the Brisbane Broncos remained calm and confident in the aftermath of their 19-10 defeat to the Warriors.

Missing a host of first-choice players, the Broncos dominated the opening 20 minutes of each half, only to make key errors which allowed the Warriors to wrestle back the advantage.

"The first 20-25 minutes we were plugging away really well and defending well, but we spent the last 12 minutes of the first half with six or seven sets without the ball," Broncos coach Anthony Griffin said after Saturday night's defeat.

"The game swung on that and they got their 13 points.

"The effort was great, it was a tight game and both teams rode it for most of the game.

"Unfortunately we opened up a few times, just before half time and that one try with [15] minutes to go, which cost us."

Already missing hooker Andrew McCullough and veteran stars Corey Parker and Justin Hodges, Brisbane were dealt another cruel blow when back-rower Matt Gillett was forced from the field after 12 minutes.

Both the Broncos and Queensland Scum will be collectively holding their breath on Gillett's fitness, with Griffin unclear on the severity at this stage.

"He has a shoulder injury and couldn't go back on," Griffin said.

"We will have to wait until tomorrow and get some scans.

"He has got a lot of strength back in it now, so hopefully it is not too serious."

Apart from a 10-minute spell which saw the Warriors dominate possession and score twice through Ben Henry and Konrad Hurrell, Brisbane were the superior side in the first stanza.

They were gifted plenty of opportunities and field position in the second half too, thanks largely to nine Warriors errors and a string of penalties which saw the New Zealanders have both Suaia Matagi and Ngani Laumape placed on report.

"We were chasing in the second half," Griffin said.

"At 13-10 I thought we were a real chance of finishing positively, but we just weren't good enough today.

"Tonight was a real tough performance by us, the opposition probably can't play much better than that – I think they completed at 86% or something – and their key players were really good; Johnson, Mateo and Vatuvei.

"We can take a lot of heart out of that performance, we haven't got two points but it was a very committed performance."

Broncos captain Alex Glenn, who was raised in Auckland before shifting across the Tasman for his shot in Brisbane, said the Warriors' big men made all the difference on a cold night at Mount Smart Stadium.

"Obviously the Warriors build off players like Manu [Vatuvei] crashing the line.

"When we are letting them get some cheap metres they can build a lot of momentum.

"I think the Warriors built off that and were competing their sets well."

[DIEHARD]

Were the Warriors any good?

[TITAN PETE]

Lillyman toughs it out for Warriors
By Corey Rosser, NZ Correspondent
NRL.com
8:01am Sun 22nd June, 2014


Surrendering the State of Origin crown to NSW is a memory which will haunt Jacob Lillyman for a long time, but the veteran prop managed to put it behind him on Saturday night, playing a starring role in the Warriors’ 19-10 win over Brisbane.

Just three days after picking up his seventh cap for the Maroons, earning a recall for the first time since 2011, Lillyman started in the Warriors’ front row and ran for 95 metres and made 23 tackles as the New Zealanders out-gritted the Broncos.

It followed a short but effective return to the Origin arena, where the 30-year-old Richmond Tigers junior clocked up 63 metres and 12 tackles against the Blues despite only being on the field for 19 minutes.

“The body is not too bad actually, it is probably more mentally,” Lillyman said.

“Towards the end of the game I was a bit tired, I didn’t get much sleep Wednesday night and then had the plane trip home.

“Mentally was the toughest part of getting up for this game, but I am just happy to get through it with the two points.”

Lillyman admitted that experiencing his first ever Origin series loss had taken a toll, and that getting his mind set for the Broncos had been difficult.

“Obviously Wednesday night was very disappointing and I have replayed certain incidents from the game 100 times over in the head,” he said.

“I have been thinking a lot about it the last few days. It was a little bit hard to focus on [the Broncos] but I think I switched on when I had to.”

Fortunately for Lillyman the Warriors don’t travel for the next two weeks, but he was still hopeful coach Andrew McFadden might afford him a day off training ahead of Sunday’s clash with the Panthers.

“I haven’t spoken to the coaching staff, but a day off somewhere in the week might be nice,” he said.

“Origin is a rollercoaster ride and then you back up and play again, so it would be good to mentally refresh.

“It is the price you pay for playing Origin, it is a massive honour. It is a tough period and you just have to do your best to get through it.”

The 30-year-old praised his club side’s toughness in getting over the top of the Broncos, despite racking up nine errors and going missing for large portions of the match.

The win was just the second time the Warriors have held a team to under 16 points in 2014. In fact, it was one of their best defensive games statistically, missing just 27 of their 293 tackles.

“It wasn’t the prettiest win, but we won ugly,” he said.

“We weren’t at our best but when we had to we defended well and scrambled well, coming up with a few plays which got us out of trouble.

“More often than not in the last couple of years we have lost those games, and probably a couple this year already too. We dug in and did what we had to do to get the two points.

“These games are really important for our season, we have a few home games in a row and have a bye in there as well, so we can really use this little period as a springboard for our season.

“If we can rack up these home wins as well as the bye I think it will put us right in the mix and hopefully we can make a run to the finals.”