The End Of An Era

Today one of the best players ever blindsided Australia by announcing that he will retire after the 2011 season. Darren Lockyer has decided this season will be his last as a rugby league player.

See the announcement here:
http://www.broncos.com.au/default.aspx?s=article-display&id=34868&title=darrren-lockyer-to-retire

The reaction amongst the fans is a bit varied, but can mostly be wrapped up into three words "Nooooo", "Ledgend!" and "Shattered".

No doubt this will have an effect on the Brisbane Broncos, a team which has had it's ups and downs the last year or so, but with the decision coming this early in the season, they will have plenty of time to prepare.

BBS blog is happy that we've had the change to experience the end of an era, but we're sad to see him go. We hope he'll go out with a bang, though. With a premiership.

Articles found here:

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/nrl/darren-lockyer-announces-retirement-at-end-of-nrl-season/story-e6frfgbo-1226029373898

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/darren-lockyer-to-call-it-quits-20110328-1ccsr.html?from=smh_sb

http://www.theroar.com.au/2011/03/28/darren-lockyer-to-retire-at-the-end-of-the-season/

Broncos keep hungry Titans starving

Broncos managed to keep the hungry Titans starving in tonights clash.

Final Score:

Broncos 14 - 8 Titans

Tries/Goals:

Try no 1: Michaels for the Titans in the 41st minute. Converted

Try no 2: Alex Glenn for the Broncos in the 52nd minute. Coverted

Penalty Goal: Broncos

Penalty Goal: Titans

Try no 3: Justin Hodges for Broncos in the 68th minute. Converted

Least Impressive Broncos Player:

Plenty of them. I have to say I was oddly disappointed in Darren, for a while.

Most Impressive Broncos Player:

I don't want to say Jack Reed, again... but I have to. Considering how new he is... well. Some of my opinions I will keep to myself.
Justin Hodges was a joy to have back. He was a little rusty in defense, but all in all... good on you, Hodges!

Ben Hannant was one of the few Bulldogs players I even remotely liked last year, but boy, that man is a joy to have on your side, isn't he? Excellent defense for a man coming back from a calf injury, first game of the year with a new team.
Jharal yow Yeh... what a good player. We are big fans of him here.
Josh Hoffman is a bit uneven in games, but the brilliance he brings is comforting.

Best Broncos Moment:

A few of them.A LOT of brilliant defense. Which, by the way, is obviously our strength at the moment. Jack Reed provided plenty of brilliant defense.

Most Improved:

No one.Well... having Justin and Ben out there is an improvement from last week, because I don't know if we could have won without them.

Moment That Made Us A Bit Too Excited:

That last try. Oh the excitement.
The game itself was a big excitement/disappointment roller-coaster...

Moments That Made Us Yell With Fury:

The same ones that made Darren lodge a protest and the same ones that made him furious. And then some more.

Biggest Mistake:

By us. Oh dear. Sloppy play the ball here and there. And Darren... needs to practice the kicking for touch. *shakes head* Many small mistakes can make big rivers

Conclusion:

Odd game. Honestly. I'm surprised I kept on top of the notes this time. It was chaotic... BUT, I see some potential for awesome games ahead. We won, but I'm so confused by referee calls and odd ball handling that I do not know if we deserved to win or not... but with the defense we had, I'll say we got a well-deserved win.

Most Valuable Player:

Ben Hannant, Jack Reed and Justin Hodges. Yeah. You heard me. That's my conclusion for the night, at least so far.

Why Are They There?

*shifts* Okay. I wish I didn't have to, because he did so well last week, but Wallace. He did a few good stuff, but the silly mistakes and the... honestly... being called out so much by the referee?

My Man Of The Match:

Ugh... Okay. If I hadn't given him that place once I would have handed that over to Reed. So I'll have to say... Justin Hodges. Coming off injury, not expected to be that much of key player he made himself... well... a key player. And oh, how I missed him!

Most Embarrassing Moment For The BBSblog:

Having, actually, been more critical of Darren Lockyer than my husband. And going oddly bonkers for his reaction after that strip that wasn't called. I think i said "mad as a Viking". Hmmm. (Note, not "Raiders" viking but more like "Alexander-Skarsgård-Eric-Northman" viking. ) *snobbish Swede*

Message From The BBSblogs Husband:
Darren almost made a mistake but thought better of it. Good!

Thought the Broncos played well for not being Dragons and he thinks that *direct quote* "The "My Little Ponies" might make some damage this year". (BBS blog will make him attribute ponies to players.) ((My little ponies my ASS!)

And "Are they having a yard sale down their end of the field?"

In general it's good to have Hannant and Hodges on the field. Their experience is essential for the Broncos at this point. I don't know about Darren though. We heard about him having his speed back up to pre- 2007 levels, but I have yet to see him fire. Actually. compared to last year I am a bit disenchanted. Wallace keeps being inconsistent but Parker is a trooper. His kicking was so-and-so the first game, but he's been flawless since then. Good job!

Jharal Yow Yeh and Hoffman keeps being essential, if a little inconsistent. And we always love Sam, aside from the fact that he seems to cop a too hard knock at least once per game... hmmm...

Looking good though. I did predict it would be a difficult win, and it was. All in all I was on the money. Ben Hannant and Justin Hodges both proved to be players to watch, but rest assured... Wallace is back on my "need of improvement" list for next week.

Good night, all. I hope you enjoyed the game and shouted yourself as Darren Lockyer voice-ish as I did.

Half time Broncos vs Titans

Titans are leading 6 -0.

Right now my top players of the Broncos are:

Jack Reed (A-effin'-mazing)

Justin Hodges (Good positive surprise)

Ben Hannant (Did very well while on)

Jharal YowYeh and

Josh Hoffman

My "not-so-top" players are:

Matt Gillette

Alex Glenn

Shane Tronc and

Peter Wallace

My "not-so-top-but-might-redeem-themselves" are:

Darren Lockyer

Gerard Beale

- which means they have done some serious mistakes, but no more mistakes and one more good thing, they're back in the black.

All in all the team is not overwhelmingly good. But the defense has been impressive...

Darren Lockyer Turns 34

We'd like to wish Darren Lockyer a happy birthday. The superstar five-eight turns 34 today.

He has now spent just about half his life playing rugby league at the highest level, since this is his 17th season.

Happy Birthday Darren!

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http://www.broncos.com.au/default.aspx?s=article-display&id=34743&title=darren-lockyer-turns-34

Pre-Game Post Broncos vs Titans

Team Lineup:

Coach: Anthony Griffin

Fullback: No 1. Josh Hoffman

Wing: No 5. Gerard Beale

Centre: No 3. Jack Reed

Centre: No 4. Justin Hodges

Wing: No 2. Jharal Yow Yeh

Five-Eight: No 6. Darren Lockyer (Captain)

Fullback: No 7. Peter Wallace

Prop: No 8. Sam Thaiday

Hooker: No 9. Andrew McCullough

Prop: No 10. Ben Hannant

Second Row: No 11. Alex Glenn

Second Row: No 12. Matt Gillett

Lock: No 13. Corey Parker

Interchange: No 14. Ben Hunt

Interchange: No 15. Ben Te'o

Interchange: No 16. Josh McGuire

Interchange: No 17. Shane Tronc

Excitement:

First game for the season for both Justin Hodges and Ben Hannant. We are, of coarse, hoping that they have a good first game and that their injuries are behind them.

The team, all in all, looks like an impressive one, and we are under the opinion that it is one that has the ability to conjure up some serious magic!

Caution needed:

Most Broncos fans seems to think this will be an easy win for the Broncos, but having Titans come off two losses isn't going to mean we'll have it easy. Oh no. Never, ever count a team out when the spotlight is burning a hole on them.

Players To Watch:

Ben Hannant - Back from injury it's going to be interesting to see how he goes. We're hoping his calf will hold up well.

Justin Hodges - Also back from injury. Also going to be interesting. We're hoping his hamstring and Achilles tendon is up for it!

Players In Need Of Improvement:

Not sure. There were some overall issues with the ball handling, oddly enough even from Darren Lockyers side, but there isn't any one player that needs improving as such.

Estimated Outcome:

No way of telling. Obviously I am going to say the Broncos will win, but I think it's going to be tough. The Titans are going to be revved up after two losses and wanting to prove themselves. HOWEVER, if the Broncos defense is as good as it was last week, and the ball handling is a little cleaner, and with the addition of Hannant and Hodges, I think Broncos will win. How much by, you may ask? I have no idea.

Other:

Unfortunately Scott Anderson will not be back until round 6, at the earliest. We're hoping his calf will heal quickly.

Go The Broncos!

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Darren Lockyer warns about the Titans: http://www.broncos.com.au/default.aspx?s=article-display&id=34598&title=titans-warning-from-darren-lockyer

Brisbane breaks losing streak in Canberra

Brisbane Broncos shaped up tonight and won 20 - 4 over the Canberra Raiders breaking 5 game losing streak in the nations capital.

Final Score:

Broncos 20 - 4 Raiders

Tries:

Broncos by Hoffman in the 6th minute. Corey Parker successfully converted the try.

Raiders by Ferguson in the 23rd minute. No conversion.

Broncos by Gilette in the 58th minute. Corey Parker successfully converted the try.

Broncos by Yow Yeh in the 64th minute. Corey Parker successfully converted the try.

One penalty goal for Parker in the 76th(?) minute.

Least Impressive Broncos Player:

Not sure, actually. They all shaped up OK in the end. Maybe Darren Lockyer, as much as it pains to say. The missed kick for touch was a disappointment, as was the loose carry. Although... that's just comparing Darren Lockyer to Darren Lockyer, I don't think that man can be genuinely disappointing.

Most Impressive Broncos Player:

Jack Reed. Wonderful talent, despite being really good last week he improved this week and made no mistakes as far as I can tell. Very promising.

Best Broncos Moment:

All the defense efforts. Being out on the line for so long, and defending wonderfully.

Most Improved:

Wallace and Thaiday both dialed it up tonight. I am impressed.

Moment That Made Us A Bit Too Excited:

Winning, obviously.

Moments That Made Us Yell With Fury:

T'eo's unsportsmanlike behavior. Very unnecessary.

Biggest Mistake:

Some dubious decisions in the carrying the ball every here and there, but nothing stands out that much, aside from the Darren Lockyer kick for touch that curved back inside and T'eo chucking the ball away incurring a penalty.

Conclusion:

Not completely there yet. There is still some sloppiness, and I wish we could have seen some more exciting plays from Darren. All in all a very satisfying game though. I am very impressed by the defense. Hoffman and Yow Yeh were both a little hot and cold. Both scored tries but both made mistakes too. If they keep up the work in training next week will be very exciting indeed!

Most Valuable Player:

Jack Reed, in my opinion. Brilliant job in both attack and defense.

Why Are They There?

They all deserved to be there tonight.

My Man Of The Match:

Jack Reed. Very good for a man playing his second NRL level game. I am extremely impressed, he looked like he belonged there.

Most Embarrassing Moment For The BBSblog:

Nothing too bad. A few comments about the tightness of some of the players shirts.

Message From The BBSblogs Husband:

Did they cover the ball with butter?

We're hoping the players keep up the good work, and that Reed has found himself a permanent place in the team. We're also excited about Hook now. Oh man, are we excited! Yes we are. Anyone who can get Wallace's head screwed on tighter this quickly is a good coach. We're seeing an improvement in psychology from last year... then again, we might just be imagining things.

Also a big applaud for Dale Copley who jumped in on the bench and saw some action despite already having played in the NYC earlier in the day.

We're excited about the win, excited about the season ahead and excited about the new coach. Good night!

(We'd like to wish Te'o a quick recovery from his concussion and Andersson a speedy recovery from the strained calf he incurred during the warm up)

Pre-Game Post Broncos vs Raiders

This feels like an important game to me. This is where the boys need to step up and prove that last week was just a little bit of trying to be too fancy too soon. I'm hoping that is the case. While I wouldn't put any money on them to win if I were a gambling person, I wouldn't put money on the Raiders either.

Broncos have every chance of winning, provided they've corrected some of he problems from last week.

Players to Watch -

Jack Reed - He had a really good debut last week, and I'm hoping to see even more good things from the youngster. All he needs is a little more experience, and he'll fit right in.

Darren Lockyer - Because you never know what he'll do or when he'll surprise. I'm hoping to see some of that fabled speed he's regained. Can't wait.

Jharal Yow Yeh - Hoping to see some magic from this player tonight, he was fairly low key last week.

Josh Hoffman - Such a good player.

Players In Need Of Improvement -

Peter Wallace - He needs to wrap his head around the game. Last week he worked well in the tackling in the center of the field... but he seemed to lose his cool in both attack and defense when play got to close to either try line. Not a good sign.

Sam Thaiday - And he knows it. I love Sam as a player, and I know he'll be working twice as hard this week. He's probably just rusty.

... and pretty much the rest of the team. Unless ball handling is much better today I'm going to have to get used to my husband referring to them as "butterfinger broncos". Please don't let me down, boys!

Estimated Outcome -

To be quite honest... I'm just hoping for a close game and not a complete butt whooping. Raiders are dangerous that way. If we lose, I want it to be by as little as possible, and I'll be okay with that, it's still early in the season.

However... provided that the problems we had last week has been worked on, I think we can win. So I am going to go for a close game, but ultimately a win for the Broncos. Because tonight is essential for Hook if he wants to get off to a good start. He needs a win, and if the team can fix that in this game, with Raiders looking dangerous... that would be awesome.

Go the Broncos! Make the dream work.

Broncos suffering disappointing loss

Final Score:

Broncos 14 - 16 Cowboys

Tries:

Broncos, by Reed,

Cowboys, by Tamou,

Cowboys, Bowen,

Cowboys, Tupou,

Broncos, by Yow Yeh,

Broncos, by Gagai,

Least Impressive Brisbane Player:

Most of them. But definitely Wallace. I can't stress enough how his mistakes tonight might have cost us the victory. Parker was a little rusty in his goal kicking, and Gillette with that double movement. Tronk... why was he there? Did he do anything but drop balls? Not what I was expecting.

Most Impressive Brisbane Player:

I liked Reed, I have to say, he did some good work. Go you big red fire engine.

I was also, as always, pleasantly surprised by Darren Lockyer. He never ceases to amaze me.

Best Broncos Moments:

Some of the tackles over the sidelines by Gagai and Reed were golden.

Lockyer intercept.

Moment That Made Us A Bit Too Excited:

The period in the beginning of the first half where Darren Lockyer got bloodied, but would not go off until they told him to, still making tackles. Then he get bandaged up, comes out and straight away produces some exciting tackles.

Moment That Made Us Yell With Fury:

Gilettes double movement and Wallace's chip kick. Dumb.Move (Pretty sure it was Wallace)

Biggest Mistakes:

Continuously going down the left hand side. Their defense was air tight and out offense wasn't good enough on that side. Not utilizing Lockyer enough, forcing him to move all over the place.

The support players were not where they were supposed to be, and neither were the back rowers. When Darren Lockyer is the ONLY player producing good defense on a good run from the opposing team you know something is off.

Conclusion:

Disappointing game overall. It was won on conversions, but I think there should have been plenty more tries to the Broncos. We had so many opportunities that were fumbled away.

Most exciting parts of the game was probably seeing Darren Lockyer being such an iron man.

I think we could have something good, if they can stop giving the ball away.

Most Valuable Players:

Yow Yeh, Reed and Darren Lockyer. It's too soon to say about Gagai. Some really good stuff and some really bad fumbles.

Why Are They There?:

Wallace doesn't seem to get what to do or when, his kicks are off time and his defense is uneven.

Tronc I was completely disenchanted with.

My Man Of The Match:

Darren Lockyer. Impressive speed, impressive commitment, impressive cool and he looks good for the coming season.

Most Embarrassing Moment For BBSblog:

Missing to record one of the Cowboys tries. Which is why I don't have as cool of a Try score list as I should have, and yelling "That is the sexiest thing I have seen in my life" as Darren Lockyer preforms tackles with blood streaming down his face with my husband sitting next to me. I'm a vampire, I think.

Message From The BBSblogs Husband:

Biggest disgrace from the Cowboys would be tackling Broncos players without the ball and playing up in scrums.

We're hoping Brisbane Broncos will do better next week. Regarding Hook's coaching, well... that's too early to say anything about.

Pre-Game Post

Overview:

BBSblog is excited about the first game of the season. It's two and a half hours until kick off at Suncorp Stadium in the Broncos vs Cowboys game.

Unfortunately the Broncos are missing both Ben Hannant and Justin Hodges for this game, both are nursing injuries.

Their replacements will be Scott Anderson and Jack Reed. It is a very exciting lineup, and we're looking forward to see a Darren Lockyer, fitter than he's been in years. We're also curious about how the new coach will do.

Most Exciting: The talk about Dane Gagai, and the buzz about Darren Lockyers fitness.

And, naturally, the new coach.

Biggest worry: For me, it's always Peter Wallace. I think he was fairly uneven in the 2010 season, and I'm hoping he's focused on consistency this year.

Also, will they overcome the drama that's been surrounding them recently?

Disappointment: I was looking forward to seeing how Antonio Winterstein(Cowboys) would do against his old team(Broncos) in a proper NRL game, but as we all know he broke his jaw in the trial game between Broncos and Cowboys.

Ben and Justin being out with injury for this game is also something we're a bit cranky about. I missed Justin in the 2010 season, and was looking forward to seeing Ben in Bronco colors.

Where we will be: Promptly parked in the sofa, eyes glued to the screen and with pen and paper in hand.

Predicted outcome: I do think/hope Broncos will win. I will not make any predictions regarding final score though.

Let's go Broncos!!!!!