Cooper Cronk makes huge Brisbane Broncos prediction

Former Queensland and Australia star turned pundit Cooper Cronk has given his verdict on the Brisbane Broncos’ chances of making the Finals.

The Broncos lost 24-18 to the Sydney Roosters at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night to leave themselves with a huge mountain to climb.

Cooper Cronk makes Brisbane Broncos prediction

2026 has just been a mess for the reigning NRL Premiers, and Cronk thinks the side are done regarding a top-eight fight, while he also opened up on why things have gone wrong for the Broncos.

Cronk told Fox League: “I don’t think they play Finals.

“One thing the Brisbane Broncos did when they caught fire last year, we marvelled at what Reece Walsh did, and we marvelled at what they did to be able to chase down scoreboards.

“They got behind on the scoreboard because they weren’t doing something right, then all of a sudden the passes clicked.

“I guarantee you, though, when they were chasing down the scoreboards last year they were doing all the fundamentals right.

“They held the ball, they executed their passes, they had a good kicking game, and defensively they were strong. At the moment, all of those things are there, but they are not catching fire to chase down the scoreboards.

“The same issues exist for the Broncos as they did last year, but it’s just the big player and players are not coming up with the big moments.

“They are averaging 20 points a game, and they are down the bottom of the ladder for run metres, tackle busts and line breaks. That sums them up. If they are not getting in the positions to do these things, then they are not going to chase down the scoreboards.”

Story of Broncos vs Roosters

Brisbane and the Roosters went head-to-head in what was a wet-weather classic.

Brisbane survived an early scare when Reece Walsh spilled a high bomb, only for James Tedesco to be adjudged to have knocked on.

It was another high kick that caused more problems for the Broncos, with Josiah Karapani nowhere to be seen, before the Roosters spread the ball wide right for Billy Smith to cross.

Sam Walker converted for the Roosters to lead 6-0, but the visitors showed bags of poor discipline and errors to allow Brisbane back in it.

The Broncos were soon up 12-6 after Tom Duffy scored his first NRL try after showing great support to take Brendan Piakura’s fantastic offload. Ben Hunt got away with a potential forward pass in the build-up, but Duffy added the two moments later to level it at 6 apiece.

Piakura went from creator to scorer when he crossed to give the hosts the lead, which Duffy extended to 12-6 with the conversion.

Roosters hit back to level out of absolutely nothing. The Broncos allowed Tedesco to beat three defenders and grubber kick for Robert Toia to score. Walker converted to level at 12 apiece.

But the Broncos took the lead back when Grant Anderson picked up a loose ball to score after another wild Roosters error, with the hosts leading 16-12 at the break.

The seesaw nature of the match continued after half-time, with the Roosters building up a 22-16 lead into the last quarter of the contest. This came on the back of Smith’s second try in the 42nd minute.

Both sides enjoyed a competitive battle, but it was the Roosters who scored the all-important next try when Walker crossed. He converted and kicked a penalty goal in the 69th minute to push their lead out to 24-16.

The Broncos cut the deficit to six points with just over six minutes left after a Duffy penalty goal, but the Roosters held on.