Latrell embarrasses Broncos at full-time
Billy Slater has pointed out the “real concern” facing Brisbane in recent weeks, with their second-half performances coming under the microscope.
Michael Maguire’s men have suffered back-to-back losses against sides well below them on the ladder, with the round 10 defeat against a wounded South Sydney outfit leaving huge question marks over their premiership credentials.
In the past three weeks, which include a victory over the Bulldogs, the inconsistent Broncos have conceded 52 points after half time and scored eight.
That trend will certainly be a worry for coach Maguire, who prides himself on instilling toughness across 80 minutes into his football teams.
Slater believes their recent efforts are “certainly not the standard” required.
“You always look back at history, results and form, and the second halves for the Broncos are the real concern,” he said on Nine’s Billy Slater Podcast.
“We all know the brilliance that the Broncos have and can play with, but the last three weeks in their second halves, they have lost 52-8.
“How they’re coming out of the half-time chat and how they’re coming out for the second half is certainly not to the standard they are playing the first half with.
“They haven’t scored a try in the second half for the last couple of weeks, so there’s some real concern there for the Broncos.”
Sitting in seventh spot with five wins and five losses, there is still plenty of time for the Broncos to turn things around and re-establish themselves as a genuine title threat.
However, it won’t get any easier coming into the State of Origin period, with several key men expected to earn selection, while Ben Hunt is now sidelined due to injury.
Slater urged the club to focus on their overall game as opposed to who is unavailable.
“It’s definitely not panic stations, they’ve got too much quality,” he said.
“Ben Hunt is obviously gonna be out for a period of time, so does Ezra Mam come straight back in? I think that’s timely, but there’s a bit of work to be done there.
“There’s no doubt that Ezra Mam and Reece Walsh make the Broncos a better side, it just helps with the balance. At the same time, I’m sure they are looking at themselves and the players that they did have on Friday night [against the Rabbitohs].
“You have to look at what’s in front of you. They can’t just say ‘we’re getting a couple of big names back, we’ll wait for them’ … you have to look at the standard of your footy.”
Brisbane will face the struggling Dragons in round 11 at Suncorp Stadium.