Broncos weapon to target Panthers’ weakest link
Joel Gould |
Brisbane’s powerhouse centre Kotoni Staggs has warned Penrith’s brittle defensive left edge that he will be coming right at them with vim in the grand final qualifier.
Canterbury lost 46-26 to a rampant Panthers in Sunday’s semi-final but they did expose a weakness in defence where Scott Sorensen, Blaize Talagi, Casey McLean and Brian To’o are stationed.
All four of the Bulldogs’ tries were scored on the left side where they exposed indecision.
Dogs supremo and two-time premiership-winning coach Phil Gould told the Nine Network’s 100% Footy on Monday night that there was a weakness the Broncos could exploit in the four-time defending premiers’ armoury on Sunday at Suncorp Stadium.
“I know it was a big win but with the ball the Bulldogs did have, they scored four tries through their left-hand defence and probably should have scored another couple,” Gould said.
“It is a target for the Broncos. They have some big people on that side of the field like Kotoni Staggs. That is where he runs the ball.
“It will come down to possession and field position and where the game is played. If (Nathan) Cleary can … have the Broncos coming off their own goal line then they will wear the Broncos down.
“If the game is loose there are opportunities to break this Panthers defensive line down, unlike in previous years. Their left-hand defence does struggle.”
Staggs has made a career-high 25 line breaks in 22 games this year, 11 more than his previous best. His 107 tackle busts, 11 tries and 137m running on average per match make him the ultimate nightmare to handle for Penrith in his right centre position.
The return of captain Adam Reynolds at half from injury, who also plays on the right side of the field, has Staggs more confident there are opportunities to be taken.
“Me and Reyno have been together for a while. He knows what I need and I will tip him up obviously,” Staggs said.
“We just have to keep focused on ourselves. We know their left edge struggles. Our main focus is breaking them down and then hitting their edges.
“I still don’t think we need to change anything. We have stuck to our game plan the whole year and it has worked.”
Penrith’s left edge was leaky early in the season but improved out of sight once Talagi and McLean got used to the system. Last week was a glitch that coach Ivan Cleary will no doubt be keen to rectify.
The Panthers have beaten Brisbane in nine of their past 10 outings but Staggs said he did not fear them.
The absence of returned stars Ezra Mam and Reynolds since round 23 has not stopped the Broncos winning all five of their last five games.
“I don’t feel intimidated by them at all,” Staggs said.
“I said it from day dot, when we did lose Ezra and Reyno, I was still confident in this team that we could go all the way. We have shown that and we will show it again on Sunday.”
AAP
