Broncos

Brisbane's young halves have fired in a 20-18 win over North Queensland to give coach Kevin Walters a welcome headache ahead of round one of the NRL.

The 22-year-old impressed with his ball running, talk and defensive clout. Cowboys fullback Scott Drinkwater was one of the most improved players in the NRL last year and continued to impress with two key try assists. World Cup-winning prop Pat Carrigan was enormous in the early exchanges with his defence, powerhouse running and ball playing to showcase his development as a player. Mam, the favourite to wear the No.6 jersey in round one, set up the opening try for Kurt Capewell with a slick grubber. In front of an official crowd of 7095 were at Sunshine Coast Stadium, last year’s Queensland Cup half of the year Josh Rogers came on late to set up the winning try with a pinpoint kick for winger Jesse Arthars to score. With captain Adam Reynolds rested through a back complaint, Walters wanted to see what his young halves had to offer in Saturday’s pre-season clash on the Sunshine Coast.

Stepping in at halfback with captain Adam Reynolds rested, Jock Madden looked comfortable alongside Ezra Mam and young sensation Selwyn Cobbo at fullback, with ...

The Cowboys, meanwhile, welcome Canberra to Townsville's heat with an early kickoff against the Raiders on Saturday afternoon. We've got to be more disciplined and there's always errors early on in the year but a lot of them were uncharacteristic." I was happy with the way we defended in the second half. After struggling through an attacking set, Jock Madden drifted right and attempted to kick in behind the Cowboys' defence – only for his kick to ricochet straight into the arms of Selwyn Cobbo. Round 1 in a couple of weeks and I'm pumped." The goal is to win the Premiership so every day when we're at training, that's where the mind is at.

Even though it was just a trial, the Queensland Derby has delivered again, with Brisbane Broncos taking out a 20-18 win over the North…

Hook can’t control the poor decisions of his defenders, but he does tell them to run a man-oriented system that relies on individuals to make good decisions. They’re the opposite of Souths: their draw is soft and their form is bad. The trick is that they have to keep doing it. This was the Souths that we wanted to see: they chucked it, they attacked from the off, they made metres with ease. They need to hit the ground running. New recruit Jock Madden tried hard while partnering with Ezra Mam in the halves, and there is no doubt that Brisbane have a lot of talent throughout the squad, but nothing can substitute for what Reynolds brings after his 11 seasons in the NRL.

Brisbane's new signing Jock Madden shone at No.7 against North Queensland in place of injured skipper Adam Reynolds and is ready for NRL round 1 if called ...

"There is another 12 days before that game takes place. He had a chat to me before the game and he said to just go and have fun and enjoy it. "The seven is a big job for the Broncos," Madden said after the win.

New Brisbane playmaker Jock Madden is keeping the pressure on for a starting spot, ready to fire against...

"There is another 12 days before that game takes place. I reckon he will be there. He had a chat to me before the game and he said to just go and have fun and enjoy it. If Madden does get a call-up to start against Penrith and go up against Nathan Cleary in the round one clash he said he would ready. "The seven is a big job for the Broncos," Madden said after the win. "Alfie (Allan Langer), Reyno...they have all played there so I just wanted to go out there and do my job and do what I do best.