What was that, rugby league? And what is going on at Brisbane? |
Brisbane. Parramatta. Rugby league. What on earth did we just watch?
What else is there to say after 80 minutes of unhinged footy at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday night?
The Broncos, premiers after a 2025 grand final won by defending like rabid dogs, with front-rowers at centre and players falling apart as they made try-saving tackles, are 0-2 to start their title defence.
The 66 points they have conceded to Penrith and Parramatta are the most ever by reigning champions over the opening two weeks of the next season.
But given that, one, Brisbane boast a small galaxy of enigmatic, brilliant attacking players; and, two, the apparent madcap way the NRL will be played and officiated in 2026, this might be the season where diabolical defensive lapses aren’t a complete death knell.
After a widening of the set-restart remit in the off-season led to a 35 per cent increase in “six-agains” in round one, Thursday’s match at Suncorp steered into a skid, with Brisbane and Parramatta at times in danger of flying through the windscreen.
Twelve tries in all, with five lead-changes, Reece Walsh brilliance and blunders, some scything attacking play and sickly defence made for the most unpredictable of contests – and ultimately a 40-32 Eels win that wasn’t secured until the 79th minute.
Fox League’s fancy new “Momentum Tracker” tool was spotted in a stupor at the Caxton early on Friday morning, still trying to work out what had just happened.