If there was one team I thought wasn’t suited by the smaller field in Las Vegas, then it was the Broncos.
I know many people suggested the narrower dimensions didn’t ultimately have an effect on either game, but I saw a few signs of it disrupting Brisbane’s attack. In particular, I thought it really helped the Roosters curtail Reece Walsh.
He loves those block plays out the back where he can skip to the outside of the third man in, but he just didn’t get a lot of those opportunities. You can give a huge amount of credit to the Roosters for that, but also the field size played right into their hands.
The way the Broncos play, they challenge the edge defence regularly. That spells trouble for the Rabbitohs because without Campbell Graham, Jack Wighton and Jai Arrow, I can see them being in for a difficult night.
Brisbane really missed Brendan Piakura when he left the field in Las Vegas. You could see it really hampered Kevin Walters’ plan with his interchange, forcing Pat Carrigan to an edge.
But I can see a big rebound from the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday night – and Adam Reynolds has shown he’s always up for a big game against his old club.
Rabbitohs fullback Latrell Mitchell.Credit: Getty
I’m not sure whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing for the Rabbitohs, but they’re going through their run of injuries and suspensions right at the start of the year. Every team has to deal with it at some stage throughout the campaign. Their time is now. They just have to hang tough and jag a few wins in the opening six or seven rounds and then the wheel will turn.
The one positive they can take out of Las Vegas is how fit and focused Latrell Mitchell looked. He made one or two mistakes, which is understandable, but there was only one carry you had to watch to know he’s in for a big season. I’ve never seen someone run over the top of Jake Trbojevic like he did. That was enough for me.
Latrell is firing but Rabbitohs are on the ropes – and Brisbane are about to cash in
7
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14.03.2024
If there was one team I thought wasn’t suited by the smaller field in Las Vegas, then it was the Broncos.
I know many people suggested the narrower dimensions didn’t ultimately have an effect on either game, but I saw a few signs of it disrupting Brisbane’s attack. In particular, I thought it really helped the Roosters curtail Reece Walsh.
He loves those block plays out the back where he can skip to the outside of the third man in, but he just didn’t get a lot of those........
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