The Broncos are blessed to have Patrick Carrigan acting as a second fullback and pointing out weaknesses in the defence in the latest display of his superb communication skills and footy nous.
Carrigan was mic’d up in the Broncos 46-12 win over the Tigers to secure their fifth straight victory, with the representative forward twice making the right call that Adam Doueihi was out of position and Brisbane scored off kicks in behind the opposition line.
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In the first half in the 15th minute Carrigan alerted Payne Haas to Doueihi being up in the defensive line and he got an offload away to allow Ezra Mam to put in a pinpoint grubber for Kurt Capewell to score.
“Go Payney (Haas), Api’s (Koroisau) there, Doueihi’s in the line,” Carrigan said.
Haas then offloaded out the back to Flegler, who passed to Mam who then put the ball on a dime for Capewell.
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Later in the 35th minute of the first half, Carrigan again spotted space behind the Tigers line and called for a long pass from halfback Adam Reynolds.
Carrigan then passed the ball on to Reece Walsh, who put in another perfectly timed grubber for Jordan Riki to dive over.
“We are on, the ball’s tight,” Carrigan barked at Reynolds.
“Oy Reyno (Reynolds), Reyno, Reyno.”
Reynolds pushed a wide pass behind two blockers to a sweeping Carrigan, who found Walsh to exploit another gap behind the line and Riki did the rest.
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The Broncos fell apart when Carrigan was suspended for a hip drop tackle last season, so it is impossible to overstate the importance of his superior communication skills to Brisbane’s success.
Carrigan also eases the burden on Walsh, who is still just 21 and allows him to play to his strengths and not have to organise the Broncos line all the time from fullback.
It is no wonder the Broncos return to form in 2023 has coincided with Carrigan being pack on the park every week.
The Broncos play the Raiders at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night looking to make it six wins on the trot and cement top spot on the ladder.
