Hunt Fires Up
Broncos halfback Ben Hunt has had a relatively quiet start to the season, with many questioning whether his fatal error in the Grand Final was still haunting him. With the Titans heaping plenty of pressure on Anthony Milford as expected, Hunt played arguably his best game of the season, taking on the line with a dummy to score a try in the first half. Hunt’s confidence will continue to grow throughout the season if he can slice through more defensive lines.
Mixed Return for Jimmy the Jet
James Robert’s controversial return to his former home ground started perfectly for the Broncos flyer, with him scoring the first try of the game after just 3 minutes, much to the anguish of the Titans fans. He made another scintillating line break through the middle of the field which almost lead to another Broncos try, and it looked like he was set to haunt his former club for the remainder of the game. However, he went on to make an error which brought the crowd to their feet, and then suffered an injury as the Titans scored their first try. Roberts was visibly struggling with the injury, and was kept relatively quiet for the rest of the match.
Taylor on Point
Rookie halfback Ashley Taylor has continued to impress for the Titans, as he did an exceptional job as the Titans cheif playmaker against the premiership favourites. Taylor was partnered with lock Greg Bird in the halves due to an injury to Tyrone Roberts, and he was forced to take control of the game in just his 6th NRL match. The young gun did a great job leading the team around, and displayed his exceptional kicking game, setting up David Mead for a try with a pin point grubber.
Titans Need to Tighten up Backline Defence
The Titans forward pack were very strong against the Broncos big men, however their inexperienced backline struggled to shut down the strike power of the Broncos speed men. 19 year old centre John Olive showed his defensive flaws by letting both James Roberts and Ben Hunt slip through weak tackle attempts for tries. A poor defensive read from winger Nene McDonald and Olive also allowed Jordan Kahu to score out wide. Olive may have been struggling at left centre, as Neil Henry made a positional swap pre-game and moved him to the left and Josh Hoffman to the right, as Olive had more speed to be able to shut down James Roberts, however the tactical moved failed to pay off.
In the Sheds
David Shillington was a late withdrawal from the game after suffering a quad injury in the warm up. James Roberts struggled with a hip injury but appeared to shake it off. Titans halfback Ashley Taylor slightly injured his shoulder, but put it down to numbness.
Scoreboard
Broncos 24
Tries: Roberts, Hunt,Kahu Nikorima
Goals:Parker 1, Kahu 3
Titans 16
Tries: Mead, Taia 2
Goals: Taylor 2
