R2 v Broncos: Back on the Horse

Both suffered heavy round one losses. Both will be seeking redemption.

The Eels won the last meeting here 22-20 in a Walsh-inspired cliffhanger, but they have lost four of the past five games against the Broncos, who start as raging favourites.

Predicted Teams

Thursday, 8pm AEST | 12 March | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Sportsbet: Broncos $1.27, Eels $3.80 – the Broncos winning is rated the most expected result of the round.
The Eels have also drifted in premiership betting, blowing out from $23 to $51, now sitting fifth-last in the market.
Weather: Expected to be fine, 25°C and mostly clear
Biggest wins:
Eels vs Broncos: 58–0 (2019 Finals); Broncos vs Eels: 60–14 (1995)
Last Lost Two Straight:
The Eels haven't lost two-straight since R17-20, June-July, 2025.
The Broncos haven't lost two-straight since R9-R13, May, 2025.

Broncos: 1. Reece Walsh 2. Josiah Karapani 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Gehamat Shibasaki 5. Deine Mariner 6. Ezra Mam 7. Adam Reynolds 8. Corey Jensen 9. Cory Paix 10. Payne Haas 11. Jack Gosiewski 12. Jordan Riki 13. Patrick Carrigan
Bench: 14. Ben Hunt 15. Xavier Willison 16. Ben Talty 17. Aublix Tawha 18. Grant Anderson 21. Jaiyden Hunt
Cut last week: 22. Thomas Duffy 19. Jesse Arthars 20. Blake Mozer
Coach: Madge Mcguire
Outs: Brendan Piakura (knee, Round 3), Billy Walters (ACL, TBC)

Eels: 1. Isaiah Iongi 2. Bailey Simonsson 3. Viliami Penisini 4. Brian Kelly 5. Sean Russell 6. Jonah Pezet 7. Mitchell Moses 8. Jack Williams/Sam Tuivaiti 9. Ryley Smith 10. Junior Paulo 11. Jack Williams/Kelma Tuilagi 12. Kitione Kautoga 13. Jack de Belin
Bench: 14. Dylan Walker 15. Sam Tuivaiti/Charlie Guymer/Teancum Brown 16. Matt Doorey 17. Tallyn Da Silva 18. Kelma Tuilagi 19. Joash Papali’i
Cut last week: 20. Jordan Samrani 21. Charlie Guymer 22. Teancum Brown / Josh Addo-Carr shock return?
Coach: Jason Ryles
Outs: J'maine Hopgood (suspended, Round 3), Josh Addo-Carr (thumb, Round 3), Ronald Volkman (quad, Round 3), Arthur Miller-Stephen (ACL, 2026)

Last Week

Both sides struggled with ball control and effectively self-sabotaged their performances.

Broncos vs Panthers
Lost 26–0 | Errors: 19–14 | Completions: 22/36 (61%)

Eels vs Storm
Lost 52–4 | Errors: 17–8 | Completions: 24/38 (63%)

If the Eels are subject to the disgraceful refereeing endured against the Storm last Thursday where the run of restarts, penalties, and decisions went against them for large bulks of the game to manage momentum we could see another blowout score due to fatigue and errors. Even the Roosters conceded 40 points against the Warriors when the refereeing was lopsided.

Game Plans

The Broncos will look to play up tempo game and bully us. Much like the Storm did. They will look to roll us through the middle before shifting quickly to the edges, using their speed, with Reynolds’ kicking game probing in behind the line.

Reeece Walsh will be key for the Broncos. He could either win the game for them, blow the Eels off the park, or lose the game off an error.

Mitch Moses is the key for the Eels. He will need to have his kicking boots on. Both sides' kicking games could decide the match. The Panthers scored several tries against the Broncos off well-placed kicks, an area where Parramatta struggled badly last week. The Eels managed to kick for 66m in the first half. At times, they tried to force passes and go around the Storm which backfired.

The Eels might need to kick earlier in the set and follow it up with an agressive kick chase to counter the Broncos' momentum and fatigue induced errors of last week.

Expect Jonah Pezet to be targeted after he struggled getting back into the defensive line last week. He and Kitione Kautoga were penalised multiple times, and Brisbane will also attack the Kelly–Penisini right edge.

For the Eels, the key will be simple. Stay in the fight. Get back to basics. Stand up to the bullies. Get back to the form they showed in the last two months of last year and in the trials.

The Eels on-field leaders need to stand up more, too. There was a lot of talk and communication prior to the game starting and they looked prime to go. But not long into the game, last week, they seemed stunned in the headwinds of a raging Storm and poor refereeing. Lost at sea.

The concern is whether the heavy loss to the Storm —"the schooner of reality"— has dented the Eels’ confidence and belief.

The Broncos, as defending premiers, won’t be lacking either. But we’ll learn a lot more about this Eels side on Thursday night.

I am not using only Parra as my example. Blaize's path was not blocked as he to compete with one player who was not locked up long term. Plus, Brown was also still at the club with options at 6 and Blaize wanted to play 6. His path to FG was not blocked by 6 was.

Coby Black left as soon as Pezet signed long term at Brisbane, so goes up against Sanders with a chance to win the spot instead of knowing Pezet and Mam are preferred options.

So if you had a son, who is a half, that was playing for Melbourne and they had Hughes and Munster signed for the next 5 years. He gets an offer from Gold Coast saying we need another half, you have a player to compete but he is signed for one year, are you saying stay at Melbourne or go to Gold Coast to play FG? If you say go then you just admitted the path is blocked or else the answer is stay as it is Melbourne.

So if you have a player that is not good enough to beat Hughes and Munster as a half, that is a blocked path to FG so they leave to a club that will play them. Example Pezet.

Isaiaya Katoa? He left Penrith in 2023 to play for the Dolphins are Cleary and Luai are there. Would Penrith of loved to have had Katoa at 6? Bloody oath but at the time they wanted to keep Luai and then by the time Katoa left, Luai got a deal from Wests that Penrith could not match. Path was blocked as Luai and Cleary were always going to be the starting halves.

What about Daniel Atkinson? Why didn't he stay at Cronulla? Oh, that is right because Dragons offered him a starting spot. Funny that what would he prefer to start instead of staying at Crounlla where Trindall and Hynes are locked up long term as preferred options. Funny that.

Luke Metcalf was at Crounlla too, why did he choose the Warriors over Crounlla? Oh that is right same reason as Warriors said he had a chance to start.

There you go non Parramatta examples, that better mate? If you want me to keep going with more examples to dispell your fantasy let me know.

Also, you may say but you have to better than those players, well in Katoa's case turns out he probably is better than Luai yet Penrith didn't know that for sure so prioritized Luai as he was proven.

There are no blocked pathways ever, are kidding yourself right now? The arguements i have with BE are IF Sanders pathway was blocked, not if there is such a thing as blocked pathways. Totally different.

You are just kidding yourself thinking there isn't such a thing as blocked pathways. Before saying i am proven incorrect, again look in your own backyard first.

Meaning of on a wing and a prayer in English

If you do something on a wing and a prayer, you do it hoping that you will succeed, although you are not prepared enough for it:

You see me being an eternal optimist is such that I find it hard to be critical of the process BUT I would be less than genuine if I honestly thought we were ready to beat the likes of Broncos.

Some things have happened this year I am loathe to accept...... they are game breakers!

I have not got over losing Lomax for what he offered to our minimalistic backline.

I believe that our young players are promising and probably overated via hope by us.

I believe that Pezit is potentially a disaster for what we want. Permanently in the 19 and only want him on the field if Moses goes of injured. He offers very little in variation to kicking, is defensively weak from a positional perspective and is damn slow.

Kelly I was hoping much more based on his experience, he was like a headless chook in that last game and has no idea defensively of the systems Ryles has introduced.

Forwards are dislocated and whilst I am happy having JDB i think we lack Guymer fitting in as a workhorse, Doory didn't fit last week when he offered nothing of the back foot, fine when we are on top. Taluigi is horses for courses and will be left floundering with Pevitt and Kelly leaving holes that will take him sideways.

We will sadly miss the workrate that Hopgood offers and i find it incongruous that he was so heavily criticised last week when he made 48 tackles with no misses......we will see who takes up this workload, probably Jack Williams.

We were beaten last week from a number of factors led by the atrocious refereeing, I rate this Broncos side more capable of putting 50 on us than Storm last week. One final point Russell played in the centres last year and completely negated Staggs, not moving into the centres for this game will show me something about what we have not learnt.

Conclusion won't happen is that I would drop Pevitt, Kelly ......move Russell to centre, Samrani on the wing and bring Joash into 5/8. Joash will be much more capable of stopping Walsh than Pezet........obviously if JAC is available, then we get rid of Simmo who is always lost on the wing defensively (showed up again last week).

Sorry Boys, I can only see a thrashing coming up and that's why I am on a wing and a prayer!

So you see why I use the expression Wing and a Prayer! I think we are in deep shit!

Replies

- - - - DYNASTY.LOADING > LB March 10, 2026 at 2:16pm
        
        Blocked pathways? Sanders played a season in NSW Cup. Blaize was second in line behind Cole but played his way into first grade. Using Parramatta as your reference is the reason you are constantly proven to be incorrect. There are no blocked pathways. There are players who compete for a stating position and there are shit teams and clubs.
        
        LB > DYNASTY.LOADING March 10, 2026 at 3:53pm
        
        I am not using only Parra as my example. Blaize's path was not blocked as he to compete with one player who was not locked up long term. Plus, Brown was also still at the club with options at 6 and Blaize wanted to play 6. His path to FG was not blocked by 6 was.
        
        Coby Black left as soon as Pezet signed long term at Brisbane, so goes up against Sanders with a chance to win the spot instead of knowing Pezet and Mam are preferred options.
        
        So if you had a son, who is a half, that was playing for Melbourne and they had Hughes and Munster signed for the next 5 years. He gets an offer from Gold Coast saying we need another half, you have a player to compete but he is signed for one year, are you saying stay at Melbourne or go to Gold Coast to play FG? If you say go then you just admitted the path is blocked or else the answer is stay as it is Melbourne.
        
        So if you have a player that is not good enough to beat Hughes and Munster as a half, that is a blocked path to FG so they leave to a club that will play them. Example Pezet.
        
        Isaiaya Katoa? He left Penrith in 2023 to play for the Dolphins are Cleary and Luai are there. Would Penrith of loved to have had Katoa at 6? Bloody oath but at the time they wanted to keep Luai and then by the time Katoa left, Luai got a deal from Wests that Penrith could not match. Path was blocked as Luai and Cleary were always going to be the starting halves.
        
        What about Daniel Atkinson? Why didn't he stay at Cronulla? Oh, that is right because Dragons offered him a starting spot. Funny that what would he prefer to start instead of staying at Crounlla where Trindall and Hynes are locked up long term as preferred options. Funny that.
        
        Luke Metcalf was at Crounlla too, why did he choose the Warriors over Crounlla? Oh that is right same reason as Warriors said he had a chance to start.
        
        There you go non Parramatta examples, that better mate? If you want me to keep going with more examples to dispell your fantasy let me know.
        
        Also, you may say but you have to better than those players, well in Katoa's case turns out he probably is better than Luai yet Penrith didn't know that for sure so prioritized Luai as he was proven.
        
        There are no blocked pathways ever, are kidding yourself right now? The arguements i have with BE are IF Sanders pathway was blocked, not if there is such a thing as blocked pathways. Totally different.
        
        You are just kidding yourself thinking there isn't such a thing as blocked pathways. Before saying i am proven incorrect, again look in your own backyard first.
John Boyle March 10, 2026 at 9:47am

Need to focus on hanging onto the ball, especially after long periods of being under the pump.

Paulo, your job is to run straight and hard, win the contact before even thinking of an offload....... YOU ARE NOT A BALL PLAYER !
- Coryn Hughes > John Boyle March 10, 2026 at 9:50am
  
  He is though but I agree yardage and bend the line first pass after.
- Poppa > John Boyle March 10, 2026 at 1:52pm
  
  I do not think you should be shouting at Junior NOT BEING A BALL PLAYER John.
  
  There is no doubt he is a ball player, one of his great strengths actually, did you not see him playing for Samoa. That said and in defence of your view, there is a time and a place for everything, choosing such is the real challenge.
  
  I want to summate this game as a WING AND A PRAYER...... what does this mean?
  
  Meaning of on a wing and a prayer in English
  
  If you do something on a wing and a prayer, you do it hoping that you will succeed, although you are not prepared enough for it:
  
  You see me being an eternal optimist is such that I find it hard to be critical of the process BUT I would be less than genuine if I honestly thought we were ready to beat the likes of Broncos.
  
  Some things have happened this year I am loathe to accept...... they are game breakers!
  
  I have not got over losing Lomax for what he offered to our minimalistic backline.
  
  I believe that our young players are promising and probably overated via hope by us.
  
  I believe that Pezit is potentially a disaster for what we want. Permanently in the 19 and only want him on the field if Moses goes of injured. He offers very little in variation to kicking, is defensively weak from a positional perspective and is damn slow.
  
  Kelly I was hoping much more based on his experience, he was like a headless chook in that last game and has no idea defensively of the systems Ryles has introduced.
  
  Forwards are dislocated and whilst I am happy having JDB i think we lack Guymer fitting in as a workhorse, Doory didn't fit last week when he offered nothing of the back foot, fine when we are on top. Taluigi is horses for courses and will be left floundering with Pevitt and Kelly leaving holes that will take him sideways.
  
  We will sadly miss the workrate that Hopgood offers and i find it incongruous that he was so heavily criticised last week when he made 48 tackles with no misses......we will see who takes up this workload, probably Jack Williams.
  
  We were beaten last week from a number of factors led by the atrocious refereeing, I rate this Broncos side more capable of putting 50 on us than Storm last week. One final point Russell played in the centres last year and completely negated Staggs, not moving into the centres for this game will show me something about what we have not learnt.
  
  Conclusion won't happen is that I would drop Pevitt, Kelly ......move Russell to centre, Samrani on the wing and bring Joash into 5/8. Joash will be much more capable of stopping Walsh than Pezet........obviously if JAC is available, then we get rid of Simmo who is always lost on the wing defensively (showed up again last week).
  
  Sorry Boys, I can only see a thrashing coming up and that's why I am on a wing and a prayer!
  
  So you see why I use the expression Wing and a Prayer! I think we are in deep shit!
  - John Boyle > Poppa March 10, 2026 at 3:22pm
    
    Hey Poppa, I do agree with your assessment above.
    
    Pezet is a real worry, Kelly has never been a great defender but I wonder if that was more prominent because Pezet was defending inside him, I did think Kelly made some strong runs with the ball though, he might be better on a wing.
    
    I don't think Dylan Brown is worth what the Knights are paying but gee he was the rock in our left hand defence.
    
    I agree with Guymer too, I thought he was most effective last year in the Back Row, he needs to be in there somewhere.
    
    I'm not understanding the love for Doorey, you can't question his work ethic but I just don't think he's in our best 19.
    
    Hope you are well mate.
TolEllts March 10, 2026 at 12:22pm

Try to complete the sets and avoid dumb and lazy penalties and 6 agains. Team should stay calm and trust their defensive lines. No one should play hero and come out of the defensive line which Kelly did several times. Stop pushing passes and they do not have to score everytime they are in the 20. Go for repeat sets and try to fatigue the opponents.

Control the things that they can control. NRL and refs will surely be still against us. Vlandy might have given the refs a standing, blowtorching orders :)

Our forwards shoud work harder. DaSilva should sit this out and have 4 forwards in the interchange. Walker can play hooker if Ryley needs a rest.

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