Broncos vs Roosters

State Of Origin this year was great on so many levels, but what impressed me so much was how a smaller and less crazy Queensland forward pack handled the behemoths of New South Wales. With experienced heads who double as wrestling masters, the Maroons withstood any great surge from New South Wales and were then able to consistently punch holes in the Blues' defensive line. 

I see a lot of similarities in this game where the Brisbane Broncos don't even have one steamroller in their forward pack, let alone three or four; which the Roosters do. Like most rugby and rugby league games, the forwards will have a huge influence on who provides the many attacking weapons in either backline the best opportunity to strike. 

It is a mark of Wayne Bennett's greatness that he has been able to flick a switch with this Broncos forward pack to the point where they are now just a really, really good forward pack. This starts with Corey Parker, Adam Blair and Sam Thaiday who are all representative quality forwards but perhaps Blair and Thaiday hadn't been playing as such consistently in the NRL in recent years. Bennett's has lifted their games but has done so in keeping things extremely simply with Blair and Thaiday holding down the middle of the field along with Parker on defence and then using their hands to goof effect in attack. They will face a huge task on Friday night however as they will need to lead the way for the Broncos with the Roosters always able to enjoy decent go forward. 

Expect to see Parker, Thaiday and Blair scampering around the middle of the field holding the ball-carrier up, wrapping the ball up and wrestling the big Roosters forwards to the ground. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck especially, but also the likes of Blake Fergsuon and Michael Jennings are extremely dangerous when coming off a quick play-the-ball where they can run at defenders who are stationery. The Broncos have been one of the best defensive teams this season because there's always numbers in their line and there's great line speed, which all starts with slowing down the ruck.

This would be the worst time for the Roosters forward pack not to dominate their opponents because Mitchell Pearce is returning from injury. Whereas Ben Hunt and Anthony Milford have enjoyed consistent game time alongside each other and a week off to fine tune their attacking moves with Darius Boyd, Pearce has been watching from the sidelines. I don't doubt that Pearce can't jump straight back into the cauldron, but it just makes the work of Sam Moa, Dylan Napa, Sio Siua Taukeiaho and Kane Evans for example even more important. They need to get Pearce that extra second to work with to make his life just that little bit easier.

Otherwise I have a feeling that Pearce will be put under immense pressure.

While the middle holds all the funk, I'm also intrigued to see who gets the upper hand out on the edges. It's the same deal here as Alex Glenn and Matt Gillett don't have the size but they certainly have the speed and footwork to make life miserable for Aidan Guerra and Boyd Cordner - Cordner's been named at lock but could slide out to the edge as that's where he's been in great form recently.

 Glenn and Gillett have been flying under the radar this season with Glenn rarely playing a bad game all season and Gillett's work simply not being appreciated. Gillett is a wobbly character to tackle and always enjoys some success cutting back in-field which could work against a big Roosters forward pack.

Here's a few hard and fast thoughts...

Jack Reed son, everyone says how good you are defensively and I've seen a few examples this season but now is the time. Reed and Justin Hodges vs Ferguson and Jennings? Please, this is heaven.

Kodi Nikorima and Jackson Hastings will both come off the bench to do a similar role which is going to be exciting to watch. Nikorima showed immediate impact against the Cowboys in earlier in the NRL Finals while Hastings has been great in place of Pearce which sets up a hefty battle between the utilities.

Do you know who Jarrod Wallace, Mitchell Dodds and Joe Ofahengaue are? Bennett has settled on this trio to come off the bench and try to maintain the good work of the Broncos' starters, which will be a tough ask for three forwards who fall closer to the 'Battler' category than their Rooster opposition.

There's simply no weak link in any of the four wingers that will be on display. Corey Oates is as tall as Daniel Tupou while Jordan Kahu and Shaun Kenny-Dowall each have plenty of impact with whatever they do.

I never really expected to say this one year into Roger Tuivasa-Sheck's fullback career but we're going to see two of the best ball-playing fullbacks in the NRL go toe to toe. Tuivasa-Sheck and Boyd will be crucial in unlocking the opposing defence, but they are very different types of fullbacks. While Tuivasa-Sheck is almost on par with Boyd with his passing, Boyd is still the best last-pass fullback in the game right now and simply doesn't need to run the footy like Tuivasa-Sheck because that's what Milford and Hunt do.

Tuviasa-Sheck's awesomeness is because he runs exceptionally well and sets blokes up. This is easily the battle that I'm the most excited about.

Everywhere you look on Friday night, you will see a little battle or someone will pop up and remind you that they're pretty damn good at this NRL thing as well. Both teams have high quality forward packs, halves pairings, threats out wide and we're going to be treated to two of the best fullbacks in the business, but more importantly, the Broncos and the Roosters go about their work in slightly different ways. That's what will make this game such a pleasure to watch because we're going to see a battle of two different coaches with two different rosters and two different styles in a high-pressure game. 

I'm picking the Broncos because I've seen their defence shine on too many occasions this season for it to be anything close to a fluke. The Roosters usually eat up smaller forward packs and then stack the points on with a group of killers in their backline, but there's this funky smell of experience and general know-how coming from the Broncos which I like.