Brisbane coach Michael Maguire will have a tricky call to make come Round 10.
Reece Walsh has delivered a reality check to Ezra Mam and anyone who thinks he’ll walk straight back into the Broncos team when his suspension ends. It’s widely expected that Ben Hunt will switch from five-eighth to hooker to accommodate Mam in the halves when his ban comes to an end in Round 10.
But if the Broncos are still playing as well as they did on Thursday night, there’s no way Michael Maguire will change a winning team. Hunt and Adam Reynolds were superb in the halves against the Roosters, while Cory Paix took his opportunity at hooker and didn’t look back.
Billy Walters also showed some glimpses of brilliance when he spelled Paix off the bench, and is shaping as the perfect No.14 due to his ability to play hooker and in the halves. The Broncos piled on 50 points and showed their attack will be dynamite when on song in 2025, but it came as another setback for Mam.
Considering Maguire is all about hard work and earning your spot, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he makes Mam toil it out in Queensland Cup when his suspension is lifted. And Walsh summed it up in a post-game interview with Channel 9 on Thursday night.
“We’ve built our pre-season and want to build our year off hard work and fight for everything,” Walsh said. “I don’t think it’s going to be that easy for ‘Ez’ to come back in and just walk into the team. It’s going to be good that people will be competing for positions, and I feel like it’s going to bring the best out of everyone.”
Matty Johns believes Broncos halves will be rotated
Speaking on SEN radio on Friday, NRL great Matty Johns said there will inevitably be times throughout the year when Hunt or Reynolds need a rest or suffer an injury. While Hunt (35) is known for his longevity, Reynolds (34) had his season plagued by injuries in 2024.
But even if there aren’t injury issues in the Broncos’ halves, Johns believes it’d be in Maguire’s best interests to inject Mam into the starting side and bench one of the veterans from time to time. “It puts a fire under Ezra now after the Broncos scored 50 points,” Johns said.
“And here’s the thing. When Ezra comes back it gives Madge the opportunity to keep resting one of Hunt and Reynolds. You can put one at 14 and the other two in the halves, and Reynolds might miss out one week if Madge wants to rest him. The ability to rotate those players is going to be crucial.”
Corey Parker pumps the brakes after Broncos stunner
Speaking earlier on Friday, Broncos great Corey Parker said Maguire won’t be resting on his laurels after the stunning performance against the Roosters. “The one thing that Madge won’t do is get ahead of himself,” Parker said.
“I mean everyone is sort of now off one game’s performance, putting 50 on the Roosters is now, ‘oh, the Broncos, they can do this and they can do that’. But ultimately again in the big scheme of things, it’s a great start and a great step in the right direction and they have done a lot of good things in the lead up to this game. But as we heard from Madge Maguire, it’s about getting back together as a team and working out where they can get better next week.”
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