Matchday Details
Thursday 12 March – 8:00pm (AEST) – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
📺 Broadcast: Nine / Fox League / Kayo
Referee: Wyatt Raymond | Bunker: Ashley Klein
Brisbane Broncos
1. Reece Walsh, 2. Josiah Karapani, 3. Kotoni Staggs, 4. Gehamat Shibasaki, 5. Deine Mariner, 6. Ezra Mam, 7. Adam Reynolds (c), 8. Corey Jensen, 9. Cory Paix, 10. Payne Haas, 11. Jack Gosiewski, 12. Jordan Riki, 13. Patrick Carrigan, 14. Ben Hunt, 15. Xavier Willison, 16. Ben Talty, 17. Aublix Tawha, 18. Grant Anderson, 19. Jaiyden Hunt, 20. Blake Mozer, 21. Delouise Hoeter, 22. Thomas Duffy
Parramatta Eels
1. Isaiah Iongi, 2. Bailey Simonsson, 3. Will Penisini, 4. Sean Russell, 5. Josh Addo-Carr, 6. Jonah Pezet, 7. Mitchell Moses (c), 8. Jack Williams, 9. Ryley Smith, 10. Junior Paulo, 11. Kelma Tuilagi, 12. Kitione Kautoga, 13. Jack De Belin, 14. Dylan Walker, 15. Sam Tuivaiti, 16. Matt Doorey, 17. Tallyn Da Silva, 18. Charlie Guymer, 19. Joash Papalii, 20. Jordan Samrani, 21. Brian Kelly, 22. Luca Moretti
Match Preview
With both the Broncos and Eels coming off heavy losses in the opening round, there will be a strong incentive to perform this week. One side will officially kick-start their season, while the other will remain winless for another week.
Both teams find themselves near the bottom of the ladder after poor starts to the season. The Eels were thoroughly beaten by a red-hot Storm outfit, while the reigning premiers were kept scoreless by the Panthers. The home side will be particularly disappointed, given they were playing in front of their home fans for the first time since winning the premiership, and will be looking to make amends. Meanwhile, the Eels’ promising off-season was let down by their opening game, and this presents an opportunity to show what they know they are capable of.
There are no changes to the Broncos. Ezra Mam has been named at five-eighth, but he may swap with Ben Hunt and start from the bench, as coach Michael Maguire opted to do last week. The Eels welcome back flyer Josh Addo-Carr, who pushes Brian Kelly out of the side. The only other change sees Jack Williams start at prop in place of the suspended J’Maine Hopgood.
There is no question who the Eels will identify in the forwards as the man to halt. Payne Haas is the best prop in the game, and very few can truly stop him — they can only contain him. The responsibility will fall to the veteran, and Haas’ Samoan captain, Junior Paulo, to lead the way for the Eels. This will be the battle to watch in the middle: the two Samoan superstars, the old buck against the young stag, going head-to-head.
Jonah Pezet gets to formally introduce himself to his future side, the Broncos. He will be looking for a better outing after last week’s match offered very few opportunities to orchestrate attack. Even his superstar partner, Mitch Moses, was barely able to show what he is capable of. The Broncos’ halves pairing of Adam Reynolds and Ezra Mam had little more to cheer about, with the big duck egg on their team’s scoresheet something they would have taken quite personally. The battle of the halves shapes as a contest between two pairings who know they are capable of much better than what they delivered last week.
The biggest takeaway for both sides from last week is the need to clean up the fundamentals. The Eels made 17 errors, the Broncos 19. The Eels completed at 63%, the Broncos at 61%. These are the statistics that explain why they did not win. Get the simple things right and the rest will follow.
The Broncos have a marginally better record hosting the Eels at Suncorp, having won 14 of their 25 encounters. With a ferocious home crowd behind them, and assuming they clean up their game, they should find themselves ahead. The Eels are better than what they showed last week and, in a more even contest, should come close.
Prediction
RLZ Tip: Broncos by 10 points.
Bold call: Reece Walsh will remind us of his brilliance (after a quiet round 1) with a double.
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- NRL Round 2 2026 Predictions & Tips
- NRL Round 2 Team Lists – 2026 Season
- NRL 2026 Results Tracker
- 2026 NRL Match Review Results Tracker: Charges, Suspensions & Fines
