Wests Tigers will look to pull off the upset of the season when they take on the competition-leading Brisbane Broncos this Sunday afternoon at Suncorp Stadium.
Sitting well outside the top eight heading into Sunday’s match, Jason Taylor’s side will be heavy underdogs for a clash against arguably the competition favourites who will run out in front of their home fans with a full complement of Origin players available.
Whether Wayne Bennett will use all five of his players who featured in last Wednesday’s Origin decider still remains to be seen, but there’s no doubting the favouritism that the home side will take into Sunday’s match against Wests Tigers regardless.
However, that’s not to say that Taylor’s men aren’t capable of pulling off the upset, with a look back over the season — which includes a 24-point and 28-point win over the two 2014 Grand Finalists in the Bulldogs and Rabbitohs respectively — proving that a youthful outfit have what it takes to turn it on against the best in the league.
And while the Broncos might have an advantage in terms of overall head-to-head meetings between the two sides (winning 18 of 23 matchups so far), Wests Tigers have actually won their past two Sunday games against the Broncos and have never lost a Sunday afternoon game at Suncorp Stadium, winning the only fixture played back in 2006.
It’s therefore shaping as an intriguing clash on Sunday afternoon between two sides at very ends of the competition ladder but both with still plenty to play for.
Will the Broncos make it seven wins in a row or can Wests Tigers pull off the upset and end a run of three straight defeats? Read on for a full match preview including all the need-to-know information, team news, analysis, statistics and much more!
Be there to support the boys as they take on the Sydney Roosters on Friday, July 24!
Match Details
Date — Sunday, July 19, 2015
Time — 4:00pm AEST
Venue — Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Match Officials
On-Field Referees — Henry Perenara and Gavin Reynolds
Touch Judges — Michael Wise and Clayton Sharpe
Video Referees — Steve Chiddy and Luke Phillips
TV, Live Stream and Radio Information
TV — Live via Channel 9 (NSW and QLD, check local guides)
Live Stream — NRL Digital Pass (subscription required)
Radio — AM 702 ABC Grandstand, FM 104.9 Triple M (check local guides)
Confirmed Squads
Wests Tigers |
|
Brisbane Broncos |
James Tedesco |
1 |
Darius Boyd |
Kevin Naiqama |
2 |
Lachlan Maranta |
Nathan Milone |
3 |
Jack Reed |
Tim Simona |
4 |
Justin Hodges (capt.) |
Pat Richards |
5 |
Jordan Kahu |
Mitchell Moses |
6 |
Anthony Milford |
Luke Brooks |
7 |
Ben Hunt |
Aaron Woods (capt.) |
8 |
Sam Thaiday |
Dene Halatau |
9 |
Andrew McCullough |
Sauaso Sue |
10 |
Adam Blair |
Kyle Lovett |
11 |
Alex Glenn |
Chris Lawrence |
12 |
Matt Gillett |
Martin Taupau |
13 |
Corey Parker |
Manaia Cherrington |
14 |
Jarrod Wallace |
Ava Seumanufagai |
15 |
Mitchell Dodds |
Keith Galloway |
16 |
Corey Oates |
Brenden Santi |
17 |
Matt Parcell |
Jack Buchanan |
18 |
Daniel Vidot |
Jason Taylor |
Coach |
Wayne Bennett |
2015 Recent Results
Wests Tigers
R13 — Gold Coast Titans 27 def. Wests Tigers 20
R14 — Wests Tigers 34 def. South Sydney Rabbitohs 6
R15 — Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 30 def. Wests Tigers 20
R16 — Penrith Panthers 35 def. Wests Tigers 12
R17 — Parramatta Eels 28 def. Wests Tigers 16
Brisbane Broncos
R12 — Brisbane Broncos 24 def. Canberra Raiders 12
R13 — Brisbane Broncos 44 def. Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 10
R15 — Brisbane Broncos 14 def. Melbourne Storm 12
R16 — Brisbane Broncos 44 def. Newcastle Knights 22
R18 — Brisbane Broncos 16 def. Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 8
Match History
· Against the Broncos — Played 23, Won 4, Lost 18, Drawn 1
· At Suncorp Stadium — Played 8, Won 3, Lost 5, Drawn 0
Numbers to Know
- 150 — Dene Halatau will play his 150th NRL game for Wests Tigers on Sunday.
- 6 — Both teams have scored six tries this year from more than 50m out.
- 8880 — Brisbane rank first in the league for total kick metres with 8880m, despite only ranking 11th for total kicks (312, average 28.46m per kick).
