Following their Round 25 win over the Eels, some experts are tipping the Broncos to make a late push for the top eight and make teams “real nervous” in the finals.
Brisbane overcame a slow start, which saw them trail 16-0 after 10 minutes, to race away with a six point win over Parramatta, who currently sit 16th on the ladder, to keep their slim finals dreams alive.
Speaking post-game, Fox League’s James Graham said you “can almost predict” what’s going to happen in the closing fortnight of the season.
“Melbourne elect to rest their stars in the final game of the season against the Broncos (and) the Broncos limp into finals,” he said.
In the final round of 2023, the Broncos clashed with the Storm at Suncorp, with both sides opting to rest players given their then-finals security.
However, with Brisbane’s finals future uncertain and the Storm guaranteed a top four finish, Craig Bellamy has indicated the latter will rest players over the final rounds of the season – which includes their clash with the Broncos.
“We have some players we would like to rest,” Bellamy said earlier this month.
“Part of that will be in their opinions. Whether we go for one game or over three games, I am not quite sure what we’re going to do.
“But we will certainly look at doing that.”
Should they overcome the Storm and Dolphins, themselves hunting a finals berth in 2024, over the final two games of the season and qualify for the finals it would be a remarkable turnaround for the Broncos, who have not sat in the top eight since Round 14 – winning just three times since then.
And while Graham noted some may view the Broncos late finals qualification as “not fair” especially considering they “get to play against the Storm without their (star) players” the Bulldogs great insisted Walters’ side won’t care.
“You’re in the mixer and you’ve got a ticket to play finals,” he said.
Graham added the club will “forget and wipe the season that’s gone and gather yourselves as a group and say ‘let’s just go.’”
Fox League’s Greg Alexander agreed; “It doesn’t matter whether they deserve it or not. They’ve had a bugger of a season really but it doesn’t matter whether they deserve it or not.”
2016 premiership Michael Ennis believes on the balance on “what they’ve shown so far this year” the Broncos don’t deserve a top eight berth at season’s end, but commended the club’s character in their come from behind win.
Ennis noted Brisbane were without injured trio Ezra Mam, Payne Haas and Reece Walsh and had “so many excuses to go ‘it’s just not our year.”
“But the character of some of the individuals in particular, there were some individuals that really stood up,” he said.
Ennis singled out halfback Adam Reynolds for his performance, as well as heralded the 139 metre, 47 tackle performance from Corey Jensen.
