Debra Sherwood previews the upcoming round 15 match between the Broncos and the Knights.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Brisbane Broncos Vs Newcastle Knights
Venue: Suncorp Stadium
Date: Saturday 10 June, 5:30pm
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Broncos: 1. Reece Walsh 2. Corey Oates 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Herbie Farnworth 5. Selwyn Cobbo 6. Ezra Mam 7. Adam Reynolds 8. Thomas Flegler 9. Billy Walters 10. Payne Haas 11. Kurt Capewell 12. Jordan Riki 13. Patrick Carrigan 14. Cory Paix 15. Brendan Piakura 16. Kobe Hetherington 17. Martin Taupau 18. Jesse Arthars 19. Corey Jensen 20. Keenan Palasia 21. Deine Mariner 22. Tyson Smoothy
Knights: 1. Kalyn Ponga 2. Dominic Young 3. Dane Gagai 4. Bradman Best 5. Greg Marzhew 6. Tyson Gamble 7. Jackson Hastings 8. Daniel Saifiti 9. Phoenix Crossland 10. Leo Thompson 11. Tyson Frizell 12. Lachlan Fitzgibbon 13. Adam Elliott 14. Kurt Mann 15. Jacob Saifiti 16. Jack Hetherington 17. Mathew Croker 18. Dylan Lucas 19. Enari Tuala
Referee: Adam Gee
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
Suncorp Stadium will come alive on Saturday night when the second placed Brisbane Broncos prepare to take on the eleventh placed Newcastle Knights in front of their home crowd.
The Broncos are sitting on nine wins and four losses so far in 2023 after competing against some of the top ranked teams. Their most recent meeting was against the fourth placed Sharks where they won 20-12.
The Knights will certainly have an arduous task on their hands, given that in round 22 last year they were defeated by the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium 22-10.
Brisbane take the field with a virtually unchanged line up from their previous winning match against the Sharks, welcoming back their players from Origin. The only change being Jesse Arthars as the 18th man.
Payne Haas, one of the best forwards in the game averaging 57 tackle breaks and 190 running metres combined with Patrick Carrigan, who has been strengthening his running game and defensive tackling, will provide a strong forward pack.
Selwyn Cobbo is returning from an injury in Origin 1 and will be teaming up with Adam Reynolds impressive kicking game, bolstering the backline, which could be the icing on the cake for the Broncos.
The Knights will need to keep their guard up against the combination of Corey Oates and Ezra Mam, after their performance against the Sharks, running nearly the full length of the field for a spectacular try.
Having only won five of their last 14 matches the Knights coach, Adam O’Brien is still confident his team can take home back-to-back wins. They will be looking to repeat what they did to the Titans in round 10 after their last bye. With the advantage of being well rested, they hope to use this reserved energy to their advantage and remain focused allowing no room for errors.
The Knights line up will welcome back Origin star Tyson Frizell who’s one of the game’s best edge forwards. He will be teaming up with Daniel Saifiti who has so far averaged 138 running metres per game this season.
The combination of Phoenix Crossland having made 380 tackles in defence and average kicking metres of 52.1 and winger Dominic Young with a current record of 13 line breaks, 31 tackles and an average of 148 running metres, could see these two add additional strength to the Knights side to help prevent them from dropping further down the ladder.
LAST TEN MATCHES
Broncos 6, Knights 4
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Broncos by 12.
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