Rd17: Brisbane Broncos v Cronulla Sharks

[Teegy]

Brisbane Broncosv Cronulla Sharks
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Sunday 2nd July, 2:30pm

Referee:

Team changes:

Brisbane:
Brisbane have 12 players unavailable due to SOO, Injury and suspension
Lockyer, Civinoceva, Thiaday, Tate, Berrigan and Carroll are out due to SOO.
Hodges is out with injury

Sharks



Broncos:

1. Darius Boyd
2. Tame Tupou
3. Scott Minto
4. Dane Carlaw
5. Fraser Anderson
6. Brett Seymour
7. Shane Perry
8. Shane Webcke (c)
9. Casey McGuire
10. Brad Thorn
11. David Stagg
12. Corey Parker
13. Neville Costigan

14. Nick Kenny
15. Ben Vaeau
16. Joel Moon
17. Ian Lacey


SHARKS

1. David Simmons
2. Darren Albert
3. Nigel Vagana
4. Beau Scott
5. Luke Covell
6. Adam Dykes
7. Brett Kimmorley (c)
8. James Stosic
9. Kevin Kingston
10. Luke Douglas
11. Reece Williams
12. Lance Thompson
13. Greg Bird
14. Hutch Maiava
15. Matt Hilder
16. Ben Pomeroy
17. Brett Kearney

[[BroncosGirl]]

Our bench is a bunch of babies lol! I cant wait for this game!!!
Carlaw in the centres, I remember one performance he had in the centres, cant remember when, but he was really good, hopefully he can bring that form into this game! Whats good, is that he has size!

Be interesting to see how Seymour and Perry go again. They'll really have to step up.
Still Im pretty confident we can win this.

[Hoppy2007Dragons]

Another Baby Broncos team, sharks by 6

[Kallan]

I am not to confident about this game, but i think we can still beat them if our youngsters step up

Who is Ben Vaeau?

[Queenslander]

This will be a tough game for the baby broncos they are still my tip though

[Kallan]

Changes to 'baby Broncos'
COACH Wayne Bennett has made a host of changes to the ?baby Broncos? outfit nailed by South Sydney in round 14 ahead of their second and final test of the season against in-form Cronulla at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday.

With the club again missing eight Queensland stars due to Origin duty and injury ahead of Wednesday week?s decider at Telstra Dome in Melbourne, Bennett today made four player and numerous positional adjustments to the side beaten 34-14 by the then winless Rabbitohs.

Young flanker Leon Bott, rookie 17-year-old prop David Taylor and injured first-grade regulars Greg Eastwood (hamstring) and Ben Hannant (knee) all lose their spots.

This allows 22-year-old Kiwi prop Ben Vaeau, pictured, to debut in the NRL and return-from-injury back Scott Minto and forward Nick Kenny to make long awaited returns to first-grade.

Giant Kiwi Tame Tupou missed round 14 with a knee injury and will be partnered on the wing in round 17 by Fraser Anderson, 21, who made his NRL debut against the Rabbitohs.

Talented five-eighth/lock Joel Moon, 18, debuted with Anderson and Taylor that night and also retains his spot in the baby Broncos side.

Eastwood and Casey McGuire were the centres against Souths but that role against the fourth-placed Sharks will be handled by Minto and usual second-rower Dane Carlaw.

McGuire moves into the starting hooker role in place of pint-sized rookie Ian Lacey who drops to the bench as back-up dummy-half.

McGuire is part of a mini reshuffle of the round 14 forward pack with Carlaw replaced in the second-row by David Stagg who moves from lock where Neville Costigan has been promoted from the bench.

Kenny, Lacey, Vaeau and Moon make up the interchange.

Vaeau is a strong running prop, standing at 184cm and weighing 106kg.

The Mangere Easts junior from Auckland joined the Broncos at the start of last season from premier league club Newtown in Sydney where he played the 2004 season before being spotted by a Broncos talent scout.

Kenny, 23, earned his second career NRL game after his tireless efforts in the front-row this year have helped Toowoomba remain in the Queensland Cup top five.

Kenny made his first-grade debut for the baby Broncos in the corresponding fixture last year won by Brisbane 22-10.

Minto, 27, started the season with the Clydesdales before the pain of losing the NRL wing spot he owned in 2005 was worsened by a torn pectoral muscle that required surgery after round three.

Queensland Origin contigent of captain Darren Lockyer, Petero Civoniceva, Brent Tate, Shaun Berrigan, Tonie Carroll and Sam Thaiday left for Melbourne today, while Maroons game two pair Justin Hodges (hamstring) and Karmichael Hunt (foot) watched on at Broncos training.

http://www.broncos.com.au/index.cfm?...96&NewsID=2857

[BRONCOS FAN]

I would;nt call them baby.. because don't forget that some of the big guys are still in like... Shane, thorn, tame, parker..

[Supergoose]

Make no bones about this the Sharks are red hot favourites for this one. The loss of Paul Gallen is huge but not as huge as the missing Broncos players. I hope Carlaw goes well but either he or Scott Minto is up against Vagana - and I don't like either of their chances. Vagana will get a double this weekend I reckon!

[Steelers]

The Sharks are playing well, and with all of these Brisbane players out... Cronulla 'should' win easy.

[Queenslander]

Who is Ben Vaeau?

Broncos unleash wrecking ball
By Mick Daly
June 28, 2006

BRISBANE will unleash their own "Jake the Muss" when Kiwi wrecking ball Ben Vaeau makes his NRL debut against the Sharks at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday.

Like the infamous Once Were Warriors film character he resembles, the 106kg, 184cm Vaeau is a formidable figure who has overcome the mean streets of Auckland to realise his rugby league dream.

The 22-year-old forward of Cook Islands heritage said yesterday he had no fear of the NRL's toughest men after surviving a challenging upbringing in which crime and punishment was the norm.

"My upbringing was as rough as they come. That's no joke," he said. "There were a lot of negative elements around me. I grew up in an area where there was a lot of drugs, alcohol, crime and gang warfare.

"Being a part of a gang was a way of life. I used to go to school thinking, 'Am I going to get into trouble with a gang today?' It was full on, but I got through it."

Vaeau played his junior league for Auckland clubs Manakau and Mangere East before linking up with the Otahuhu Leopards in the Bartercard Cup.

He moved to Australia by himself in 2004 to play for Sydney's Newtown Jets, from where he was scouted by the Broncos.

He played for Brisbane in a trial match against Melbourne Storm last year and had a handful of games for Toowoomba Clydesdales in the Queensland Cup before fracturing his kneecap.

He missed the opening nine weeks of this season recovering from the injury but has impressed in Toowoomba's past five matches.

Vaeau, who also played union at Mangere College, said he was a stronger character for having leapt the hurdles he had.

"A lot of people who know me remember me as a hard man. I could stand my own ground. I wouldn't take a backward step against anyone," he said.

"My reputation helped me get through those years.

"I was the guy that you just don't want to mess with.

"I didn't seek trouble. It's just that once people saw what I could do on the field, they didn't want to go with me off it."

The Sharks boast what is arguably the NRL's most in-form pack but Vaeau was confident that he could handle them.

He said that he respected all of his opponents but that he would never be intimidated.

"I hate being stood over. I'd go with anyone. Reputations mean nothing to me. I couldn't care less," he said.

"That's just the way I've been brought up. I want people to think twice about running into me."

Teammate Brett Seymour, who will play five-eighth for the Broncos this week, predicted Vaeau would rattle some bones: "I've played with him the last couple of weeks (for Toowoomba) and he is a machine," he said. "He is very big and strong and he's got a good offload on him."

With six players on Origin duty and regular choices Justin Hodges, Karmichael Hunt, Ben Hannant and Greg Eastwood injured, the Broncos will field a makeshift line-up against the Sharks.

Scott Minto, playing his first game of the season after overcoming a pectoral tear, will start in the centres alongside usual second rower Dane Carlaw, while Vaeau joins Nick Kenny, Joel Moon and Ian Lacey on an inexperienced interchange bench.

The Daily Telegraph

[[BroncosGirl]]

I cant wait to see Ben play !

[qld power]

says in his jake the mus voice get in the kitchen and cook me some eggs :radio:

[qld power]

wahoo sth auckland boi im going to be glue to see him play

[HodgoBerro]

Carlaw in the centres, I remember one performance he had in the centres, cant remember when, but he was really good, hopefully he can bring that form into this game!

it was the rabbitohs game in 2004 he got knocked out after a high shot. dunno who did it but poor gi jane was dribbling and had nfi where he was

[DeeGan]

Apparently Brisbane season ticket holders get an email about the pre-game stuff. Here it is courtesy of HodgoBerro:


Game Day Details
12:00pm - Gates Open
12:05pm - Curtain Raiser Aspley Devils Colts v Western Districts Panthers Colts
1:26pm - Pre Game Announcements
2:30pm - Broncos v Sharks