It’s only been two games, but there are serious questions over whether the Broncos have the hunger to go back-to-back and win the NRL premiership.
Brisbane suffered a shock 40-32 loss to Parramatta at home on Thursday night, a week after being held scoreless by the Panthers in another defeat at Suncorp Stadium.
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The below par start comes after the Broncos lost to Hull KR in cold conditions at the World Cup Challenge game in February.
It’s not quite panic stations yet for the Broncos — the Panthers started last season 1-5 and bounced back to come within a whisker of making the grand final.
But the early signs are worrying for the reigning premiers and several former players have cast doubt on whether the Broncos will be able to join a rare group of teams to win consecutive titles.
“They (the Broncos) look like a shadow of their former selves from last year,” Roosters premiership winner Bryan Fletcher said on Fox League after the loss to Parramatta.
Brisbane’s left edge looked particularly vulnerable in defence as Parramatta’s Kelma Tuilagi and Isaiah Iongi sliced through with little resistance to score two tries each on Thursday night.
“They’ve got the edge defence absolutely rattled. Ezra Mam is a matchwinner but boy he’s been found out defensively on that side,” Greg Alexander said.
“They really have struggled defensively on that left side, Brisbane. They’re all over the place.”
Ezra Mam’s defensive lapses were pointed out by Cooper Cronk in commentary, who said: “This is poor defence from the left edge of the Brisbane Broncos. Ezra Mam stops for a second and allows Isaiah Iongi to go through.
“The left edge of the Brisbane Broncos is shaky tonight.”
Eels legend Nathan Hindmarsh said: “He (Mam) just clocks off, he slows down a little bit where he could have made an effort to dive, clip him or ankle tap him.”
Reece Walsh also “clocked off” defensively, caught well out of position as Jonah Pezet scored the matchwinning try for the Eels.
Walsh scored two tries including a brilliant chip-and-chase, but there are few Broncos can hold their head high after a tough start to the season.
Payne Haas and Patrick Carrigan will be hoping the rest of the forward pack can lift, with
Jordan Riki and Jack Gosiewski underwhelming in the opening two games.
There is also the injury concern to halfback Adam Reynolds, who in serious doubt for next weekend’s game against the Storm after suffering rib cartilage damage late in the game against the Eels.
Fellow veteran Ben Hunt is the obvious player to replace Reynolds in the halves alongside five-eighth Mam, while recruit Thomas Duffy is also a potential option.
The Broncos will need to beat the Storm in Melbourne without their first choice halfback if they are to avoid slumping to a 0-3 record.
But the most pressing issue for the Broncos appears to be their attitude in defence, leaking 66 points in the first two rounds of the season.
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Speaking on NRL 360 this week, two-time premiership winner Luke Lewis effectively put a line through Brisbane’s chances of going back-to-back, suggesting Broncos players don’t have the hunger to go all the way again.
“Do I think they’re going to win it again this year? No. I think Penrith are the team to beat,” said Lewis, who won the 2003 premiership with the Panthers.”
Lewis suggested the Broncos players don’t have the same internal drive for success that saw the Panthers win four premierships in a row from 2021 to 2024.
“I just feel like the calibre of player at Penrith is a little bit different to the calibre of player at the Broncos,” he said.
“The Broncos players are outstanding and brilliant individuals.
“I just feel like with Penrith, the youth, Nathan Cleary, the way they train and prepare is a little bit different to the Broncos.
“Penrith will make it happen whereas the Broncos … little bit different.
“You watch them (Penrith) train, I’ve never seen a club train like that. They are relentless when it comes to training and they demand perfection off everyone.”
Lewis added: “Penrith lost four in a row to start last year. I wouldn’t be too stressed if I was a Broncos fan. They’ve got plenty of time to come back. They’ve got class all over the park.”
“It was very disappointing from a defence point of view,” Broncos coach Michael Maguire said in his post-game press conference.”
Maguire said he would be putting every player in his squad on notice after the lacklustre start to the year.
“I’ll have a look at the performance,” he said.
“That’s what you do as a coach. I’ll go back and watch the tape. We performed for 20 minutes, we performed pretty well, but it takes 80 minutes to win a game of footy. So I’ll be having a look at each player in the squad.”
The Broncos will be boosted by the recruitment of Jonah Pezet and Mitch Barnett next season, but the powerhouse club would want to get a win on the board soon to avoid wasting Payne Haas’ last season in Brisbane before he joined the Rabbitohs.
