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Brisbane coach Kevin Walters put his team on blast after conceding 34 points in a thrilling loss to Melbourne on Thursday night.
The Broncos missed 25 tackles – and the Storm missed 20 – in a game that provided some brilliant attacking flair but lacked some defensive starch as it finished 34-32 at AAMI Park.
While many of the 11 tries scored were brilliant and got spectators off their seats, premiership teams are generally the ones who can limit opponents to one or two tries per game.
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Melbourne and Penrith played out a defensive classic in round one which the Storm won 8-0.
The Broncos also conceded 34 points against the Panthers in round three, and Walters realises they must shore up their defence if they plan on making it to a second consecutive grand final.
“We probably didn’t deserve to win in the end, a couple of soft tries there,” he told media post-game on Thursday.
“When you score 34 (32) points, then concede… what did they score? You can’t expect to win a game of footy when they score that many tries.
“It’s not acceptable.”
Fox League reporter Lara Pitt suggested it was “a really entertaining game for fans”, to which Walters bit back “I’m glad you enjoyed it”.
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Melbourne and Penrith are two clubs in recent years to have found premiership success on the back of formidable defence.
Brisbane has already conceded the second most points in the competition this season – although have now played one more game than most teams.
Last year they were the second best defensive team in the NRL, behind only the team that beat them in the grand final, Penrith.
With attacking superstars like Ezra Mam, Selwyn Cobbo, Kotoni Staggs, Reece Walsh, and Deine Mariner in the side the Broncos are never going to be worried about where their points come from.
But it’s their work on the other side of the ball that has the coach concerned.
“There was plenty of effort, and I can’t fault them with their effort – we lost Adam (Reynolds, to injury) at half time and that was a pretty big disruption for us,” Walters said.
“But we just weren’t quite there defensively tonight.
“That is the annoying thing, because there’s lots of effort but we have to get the effort into the right places.
“Some of the tries we scored were amazing, and that’s great for the crowd, I’m glad you’re enjoying it, but we’ve got to be better defensively.”
The Broncos next face cross-town rivals the Dolphins next Friday.
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