2023 NRL Preview Round 12: Broncos Vs Panthers

Round 12 kicks off with a blockbuster clash between the Broncos and the Panthers at Suncorp Stadium.

MATCHDAY NEWS

MATCHDAY SCHEDULE

Brisbane Broncos Vs Penrith Panthers
Venue: Suncorp Stadium
Date: Thursday, May 18, 7:50pm AEST

MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS

Broncos: 1. Reece Walsh 2. Jesse Arthars 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Herbie Farnworth 5. Selwyn Cobbo 6. Ezra Mam 7. Jock Madden 8. Thomas Flegler 9. Billy Walters 10. Payne Haas 11. Kurt Capewell 12. Jordan Riki 13. Patrick Carrigan Interchange: 14. Cory Paix 15. Corey Jensen 16. Kobe Hetherington 17. Martin Taupau Reserves: 18. Deine Mariner 19. Keenan Palasia 20. Brendan Piakura 21. Xavier Willison 22. Jordan Pereira

Panthers: 1. Dylan Edwards 2. Sunia Turuva 3. Tyrone Peachey 4. Stephen Crichton 5. Brian To’o 6. Jarome Luai 7. Nathan Cleary 8. Moses Leota 9. Mitch Kenny 10. James Fisher-Harris 11. Scott Sorensen 12. Zac Hosking 13. Isaah Yeo Interchange: 14. Soni Luke 15. Lindsay Smith 16. Liam Martin 17. Jaeman Salmon Reserves: 18. Jack Cogger 19. Luke Garner 20. Thomas Jenkins 21. Chris Smith 22. Liam Henry

Referee: Adam Gee

MATCHDAY PREVIEW

The Panthers are unchanged from Round 11 while Adam Reynolds is out for the Broncos after suffering a heavy concussion last week, with Jock Madden replacing him at halfback.

Penrith were back to their devastating best last week in a 48-4 demolition of the Roosters. With plenty of criticism coming his way, Jarome Luai produced a best on ground performance, stuffing the stat sheet with one try, two try assists, two line breaks, two line break assists and 135 run metres with 11 tackle breaks.

The Broncos were brave in a 24-16 loss to the Storm at AAMI Park after losing Reynolds in the first half but were let down by poor discipline, losing three players to the sin bin, albeit including a controversial decision against Patrick Carrigan. The loss meant the Broncos dropped out of top position, but they should still head into this contest with plenty of confidence after getting the better of the Panthers in their round one thriller.

With Nathan Cleary and Luai really hitting their stride ahead of Origin selection, the Broncos need to nullify their impact. That starts in the middle in a juicy battle, with Payne Haas and Carrigan going head to head with James Fisher-Harris and Isaah Yeo.

The loss of Reynolds is a big one for Brisbane, and added pressure will be on Reece Walsh to create scoring opportunities against a very tough defence.

LAST TEN MATCHES

Brisbane 5, Panthers 5

MATCHDAY PREDICTION

Panthers by 6 points.

Follow Nothing But Rugby League on Facebook