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Broncos bucking conventional wisdom

Steve Jancetic 23/04/2011 03:17:43 PM Comments (0)

Conventional wisdom says clubs that punt their coach three weeks out from the start of the NRL season don't get off to a flyer, but Brisbane are fast proving they are anything but conventional.

The Broncos surged to top spot - for the weekend at least - on the back of their sixth straight win, a 31-18 demolition of Wests Tigers at the Sydney Football Stadium on Friday night.

It's a stunning recovery for a club which was supposedly in turmoil, with coach Ivan Henjak shown the door less than a month before the opening round.

Even then rumour and innuendo surrounded the Broncos with reports master coach Wayne Bennett was set to return to the club in 2012, interim coach Anthony Griffin seen as little more than a stop-gap measure ahead of the comeback of the messiah.

But through it all, the Broncos have continued to defy the odds, the unity within the team exemplified in their outstanding defensive record which is averaging less than 10 points conceded per game.

"When all the stuff that was going on with the coaching, it didn't faze us one bit," Broncos prop Ben Hannant said.

"We were happy with the way we were training, the style of football they were training us to play - we were getting on really well as a group, so it was a good place to be.

"There was a lot of things going on outside of our control but it didn't affect us.

"At the end of the day we got a new coach but nothing's changed, we're enjoying being a part of the club."

While skipper Darren Lockyer - who has seemingly got better with each game since announcing this would be his last year before retiring - and Sam Thaiday were again the standouts against the Tigers, Lockyer praised the continued performances of the younger brigade, the likes of Gerard Beale, Jack Reed, Alex Glenn and Jharal Yow Yeh.

It was those same youngsters that many critics thought would be the Broncos' Achilles heel in 2011.

"I felt we'd be a lot more consistent this year because those younger guys were a bit more mature and a bit more confident," Lockyer said.

"They've been the difference really.

"Winning six in a row in this competition is pretty good.

"We're doing some really good stuff there and there's no reason why we can't keep that going."

While there were some positives for the Tigers, such as the return from injury of Robert Lui, Liam Fulton, Beau Ryan and Keith Galloway - who had a barnstorming game - their soft defence up the middle and on the left edge was a major concern.

It's an area that is sure to be tested again next week when they take on the big Canberra pack in the nation's capital, Tim Sheens admitting his concern at the form of some of his young forwards.

"We need to roll our sleeves up a bit better in the ruck and give a platform for our kickers," Sheens said.

"A couple of young forwards are finding the NRL just a little tough at this point of the season."

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