What we learned: Walsh sizzles in Broncos demolition; Raiders star’s huge injury blow

Fletcher Baker leapt high to catch a kick from Ezra Mam and put Jordan Riki over to give the Broncos their second.

Chevy Stewart produced a blunder under the high ball to give Ezra Mam the chance to pounce and score under the posts.

Billy Walters produced a pinpoint grubber for himself to score the Broncos’ fourth inside half an hour.

Walsh dummied and went to score his second as the Broncos scored their fifth of the first half.

Jamal Fogarty suffered a suspected ruptured bicep in a massive blow for the Raiders.

Simi Sasagi went himself with a dummy to slice through some feeble Broncos defence and get the Raiders on the board.

Selwyn Cobbo dived over for the Broncos’ sixth try to all but seal the result.

Xavier Savage went over for a consolation try, but it was too little too late for the Raiders as the Broncos secured a 34-10 victory.

WALSH SIZZLES IN MASTERCLASS

Reece Walsh put in a masterclass to lead the undermanned Broncos to a statement win against a top four side.

Walsh finished with 140 run metres, a whopping nine tackle busts, three linebreaks and two tries in a superb display.

Mal Meninga was running out of words to say about Walsh’s impact.

“Honestly we’ve already said it all about him that’s probably enough, but just his speed, his deception, his deception off the ball and his great evasive skills,” Meninga said.

“He’s the complete package.”

Cooper Cronk lauded Walsh’s tactics in wet conditions.

“I like the mindset he had going into this game because everyone was telling him to run,” Cronk said.

“If you think about a wet Suncorp and big heavy forwards for the Raiders being their strength, what is the last thing that Papalii and Tapine want? Reece Walsh to run.

“So in his first opportunity he just doesn’t hesitate. He takes the handbrake off and hits the accelerator and twice he went straight through.

“He’s got the idea. He has got some footy intelligence and geez he has got some skills.

“There is not too many people that move like Reece on a footy field.

“The last person that did it like him was probably Billy Slater and this guy is starting to light up the TV screen every time he touches the ball.”

RAIDERS ROOKIE’S HORROR NIGHT AMID FOGARTY BLOW

A week after his stunning debut Raiders’ rookie fullback Chevy Stewart had a night to forget in atrocious conditions at Suncorp Stadium.

Stewart finished with 68 run metres from eight runs with two errors and a missed tackle and he was met with some brutal defence from the Broncos.

“The Broncos kick chase game was intimidating and young Stewart at the back was under pressure the whole game,” Cronk said.

“He has got all the skills, speed and he has shown he has a lot of courage,” Meninga said.

“It is about belief in himself and Ricky will believe in him and it is just about getting back on the bike next week and work really hard on some of the deficiancies in his game.”

Injury compounded the Raiders’ loss with Jamal Fogarty suffering a potential season ending injury.

“The biggest talking point to come out of this game is probably Jamal Fogarty,” Cronk said.

“With a partial bicep injury you can play on with it, but if this requires surgery that is their gun halfback and the conductor of all their attack and their main kicker that will be out for an extended period.

“This is going to be a huge challenge. We will see what Ricky Stuart has got. He might have to go to the depth charts to find someone. Does Strange come in and play halfback?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *