The winless Wests Tigers head to Brisbane on Saturday night with few people giving them a chance but memories of an upset victory over the Broncos in Round 20 last year will give Tim Sheens' men a flicker of hope.
Reeling at the bottom of the NRL ladder, nobody was tipping the Tigers to defeat the red-hot Broncos in 2022 and few will be backing them this week but there were signs of improvement against the Storm and Sheens will look to build on those.
New recruits John Bateman and Api Koroisau did their best to lift Wests Tigers back from the Storm's early lead on Friday but errors in possession errors and some poor defence consigned them to a fourth straight loss.
The Broncos, meanwhile, are flying high after defeating the Dolphins 18-12 in the inaugural battle of Brisbane on Friday night and will be looking forward to an arguably easier run in the weeks ahead with games against the Wests Tigers, Raiders and Titans.
With Adam Reynolds, Patrick Carrigan, Payne Haas and Reece Walsh in rare form the Broncos are well on track for a finals appearance after the disappointment of last year's fadeout.
Haas leads the NRL in post-contact metres with 344 while the electric Walsh sits atop the line break assists tally with seven.
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Team News
Broncos: The Broncos are 1-17 with no game day changes. Coach Kevin Walters has named the same 17 that snuck past the Dolphins in a classic at Suncorp Stadium in Round 4. Kobe Hetherington dropped out of the extended squad on Friday after returning from a pre-season biceps injury via the Hostplus Cup last week.
Wests Tigers: No further changes on game day after Brent Naden dropped out of the squad on Friday night due to an infection. Starford To'a takes his place at centre after originally being named on the bench. Back-rower Shawn Blore is the new addition to the interchange. Adam Doueihi has retained the job at fullback, with Daine Laurie dropping out of the squad for Round 5, while Brandon Wakeham keeps the No.6 jersey.
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Stat Attack
- The Broncos are aiming for a perfect five from five start to a season for the first time since 1998.
- Wests Tigers have won their past four games against the Broncos.
- Broncos centre Kotoni Staggs has scored four tries in his past three games.
- Tigers fullback Adam Doueihi has scored six tries in his past six games at Suncorp Stadium.
- The Broncos play their fourth consecutive game at Suncorp Stadium.
Stats supplied by David Middleton, League Information Services, author of the .