Andrew Pelechaty previews the Round 15 opener, with Brisbane hosting South Sydney at Suncorp Stadium. This is what we have to look forward to.
Embed from Getty ImagesTEAM NEWS
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Date: Thursday June 17, Time: 7:50pm
Broncos Team
- Tesi Niu
- Xavier Coates
- Herbie Farnworth
- Jesse Arthars
- Selwyn Cobbo
- Karmichael Hunt
- Tyson Gamble
- Matt Lodge
- Jake Turpin
- Payne Haas
- Alex Glenn
- Tevita Pangai Junior
- Thomas Flegler
- Kobe Hetherington
- John Asiata
- Keenan Palasia
- TC Robati
- Cory Paix
- Jordan Riki
- Rhys Kennedy
- Dale Copley
Team Changes
IN: Jordan Riki
Rhys Kennedy
Xavier Coates
OUT: nil
Rabbitohs Team
- Latrell Mitchell
- Alex Johnston
- Dane Gagai
- Campbell Graham
- Taane Milne
- Cody Walker
- Adam Reynolds
- Mark Nicholls
- Damien Cook
- Tevita Tatola
- Keaon Koloamatangi
- Jai Arrow
- Cameron Murray
- Braidon Burns
- Hame Sele
- Thomas Burgess
- Jacob Host
- Blake Taaffe
- Liam Knight
- Josh Mansour
- Jaydn Su’A
Team Changes
IN: Cameron Murray
Damien Cook
Dane Gagai
Jai Arrow
Josh Mansour
OUT: Benji Marshall
Peter Mamouzelos
Referee: Adam Gee
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Broncos
Embed from Getty ImagesLike re-runs of Two and a Half Men and an “extra special edition that the whole family must watch” of A Current Affair, the Brisbane Broncos are part of Channel Nine’s furniture, so it’s no surprise that they’re back on Thursday night after a week off, and back at Lang Park.
On a more serious note, Brisbane seem to have regressed after their round 11 win over the Sydney Roosters: they’ve since lost to Melbourne (40-12), St George Illawarra (52-24), and Canberra (38-16). The Dragons and Raiders losses involved familiar second half fadeouts as they trailed the Dragons 24-18 at halftime, and the Raiders 22-10. Neither were insurmountable deficits, but they both became blowouts. It’s a worrying sign after coach Kevin Walters had tried so hard to bring pride back into the jersey.
Rabbitohs
Embed from Getty ImagesAfter heavy losses to Melbourne and Penrith, Souths are finding their mojo again with comfortable wins over Parramatta (38-20) and Newcastle (24-10). With only Latrell Mitchell backing up from Origin, the dependable Alex Johnston stepped up, scoring another hat-trick as Souths shook off a tenacious Knights. Johnston scored the first two tries as Souths led 12-10 at halftime and his third gave Souths a vital eight-point break. Souths could’ve won by more, but bombed a couple of late tries.
In good news for the Rabbits (but bad news for Brisbane), they welcome back Origin reps Cameron Murray, Damien Cook, Dane Gagai, and Jai Arrow, while veteran Benji Marshall drops out of the squad.
PREVIEW
With Adam Reynolds moving to Red Hill in 2022, what’s the bet he’s treating this as an early audition for next year? He probably won’t need to, as Brisbane’s halfback crisis means he’ll walk into the starting 13. However, he’ll still want to impress Walters.
This could spell pain for the Broncos, as a motivated Reynolds should equal a big Souths win. The Rabbitohs are one of the most dangerous attacking teams in the NRL (averaging 26 points/game in 2021) and can destroy struggling teams: they’ve beaten Canterbury-Bankstown 38-0, Brisbane 35-6, Gold Coast 40-30 (trailing 24-10 at halftime), Canberra 34-20, and Parramatta 38-20. If the Broncos aren’t careful, this could get uglier than a Freddy Krueger cosplay contest.
KEY STAT
While Souths have won the past two Sydney games comfortably, Brisbane beat Souths at Lang Park 22-18 way back in round two, 2020.
PREDICTION
Sorry, Broncos fans, but this will be Souths by a cricket score. The Rabbitohs are coming off two big wins, the Broncos are a rabble again, and Reynolds will be looking to impress.
Rabbitohs by 20.
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