NRL great PAUL GALLEN will appear on Nine’s 100% FOOTY every Monday night of the NRL season, debating rugby league’s hottest topics alongside Phil Gould and James Bracey. Tune in LIVE at 7.30pm (AEST) on 9Now tonight following a bumper round 17!
The Broncos are battling for form big time at the moment, and have now lost four games on the trot.
For a team with as much talent as them, they should be winning a lot more games than they have been.
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The manner of a couple of their losses recently is definitely concerning.
They remind me a bit of North Queensland last year – they came back after a successful season and just thought it was going to happen for them again, but it didn’t.
Nothing is going to just happen for you in this competition – you have to work hard for everything in the NRL.
I can’t say for certain whether Brisbane has done the hard work or not – I’m not inside the club’s four walls – but from what I’ve seen the team does struggle to get itself out of tough situations on the field.
The really good teams tend to stick to their structures when something goes bad during a game, and can generally dig their way out of a hole.
The Broncos aren’t doing that.
Granted they have missed some of their best players at different times due to injury and State of Origin, but you would like to think their depth is good enough to work through those periods.
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Having said that, I reckon having Adam Reynolds sidelined for a while is actually going to help the team in the long run.
They have lost five of seven games since Reynolds went down injured against the Roosters, and clearly his absence is having an impact on their form.
We know how influential he is for them, and what the team’s win percentage is like when he’s missing from the line-up since he joined the club.
But the suggestion the Broncos have to win a premiership before Reynolds retires is way off the mark.
On the contrary, I see Brisbane’s premiership window is opening further, not starting to close.
The experience some of the other guys are getting at the moment is only going to make them better players down the track.
Yes, it’s true the spine guys like Ezra Mam, Jock Madden, and Billy Walters might be struggling a bit to adjust to the loss of Reynolds at the moment.
But they are learning valuable lessons by being put in situations that they need to get out of without the veteran halfback to help.
Reynolds is contracted for 2025 but will be 34 once next season starts, and his career is winding down.
I actually think it’s important these younger guys at the Broncos learn to win without him, because if they can they will be a formidable team for a long time after he retires.
I wouldn’t be writing off their chances this year just yet, either.
This NRL season is so close that I still think any of the top 14 teams currently on the ladder can be playing semi-finals come September.
The Tigers, Eels, and Titans are the only teams out of the running already, in my opinion.
A team like the Broncos might be struggling a bit but if you can win two or three in a row you are right back in the top half of the ladder.
And when you add Reynolds – plus all their Origin stars – back into that line-up they are still one of the best teams in the competition.
You probably need at least 12 wins – possibly 13 – throughout the season in order to qualify for finals. With that in mind, even the Rabbitohs can still catapult into September.
They will have to win at least eight of their remaining 10 games – which won’t be easy – but I reckon they have the talent to do it.
I can’t wait for the next 10 weeks of footy. It’s going to be a genuine shootout heading into finals.