The Broncos four match winning run came to end when travelling to New Zealand last week to take on the Warriors (19 – 10).
The Broncos were without regular Hooker Andrew McCullough, second rower Corey Parker, centre Justin Hodges, and only eleven minutes into the game, lost Matt Gillett who was backing up from Wednesday’s night Origin along with Sam Thaiday, with a shoulder injury.
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Given the changes to the side, it was a tough, competitive effort by the Broncos who faced an in-form and full strength Warriors outfit fresh off a bye.
After two away games and two byes in the past month, the Broncos will be looking forward to return to Suncorp for the first time since their impressive defeat of Manly 36 – 10. Also pleased to back at home will be Dale Copley who has bagged a double in each of the past two home games, taking his season tally to five tries from six games at Suncorp
Gillett has been cleared of any serious damage but along with McCullough, will not lining up in the match.
Hodges comes back into the line-up after a post Origin rest to complete a first choice back-line for the Broncos.
SHARKS
Somehow, it just keeps getting worse for the Sharks who not only suffered their fifth loss on the trot against Manly last week, they also wrote themselves into the history books as being the only team not to have registered a point in three consecutive matches.
The Sharks did cross the line three times in their 26 – 0 defeat but in a sign of the times at the beleaguered club, two tries were disallowed with the third was held up over the line.
The cherry on top came form Sharks Captain Paul Gallen just days after the defeat, who claimed the interim Coach Peter Sharp didn’t want the job assigned to him at the start of the year and wasn’t putting in a 100%.
Where do you go to from there?
It’ll be easier to turn around the QE II than it would be the Sharks’ form at the moment.
Jeff Robson returns to the side at halfback with Michael Gordon dropping back to fullback – both positive changes for the Sharks but still not enough to see them cause a major upset here.
HEAD TO HEAD
These sides have met once in each of the past two seasons and unbelievably, the Sharks have won on each occasion – and at Suncorp!
It’s too much of a stretch to see the Sharks repeating recent efforts this weekend though given the respective form of the two clubs and it is far easier to envisage a return to the period prior to the last two seasons, when Brisbane won five in a row against the Sharks all by at least 16 points or more.
Teams:
BRONCOS: Ben Barba, Daniel Vidot, Jack Reed, Justin Hodges (c), Dale Copley, Josh Hoffman, Ben Hunt, Josh McGuire, Jake Granville, Ben Hannant, Alex Glenn, Corey Oates, Sam Thaiday. Interchange: Todd Lowrie, David Stagg, David Hala, Jarrod Wallace.
SHARKS: Michael Gordon, Sosaia Feki, Jonathan Wright, Ricky Leutele, Jacob Gagan, Todd Carney, Jeff Robson, Sam Tagataese, Michael Lichaa, Bryce Gibbs, Luke Lewis, Wade Graham, Paul Gallen. Interchange: Fa’amanu Brown, Tinirau Arona, Anthony Tupou, Siosaia Vave, Chris Heighington.
