Jonah Pezet looms as the heir apparent to Adam Reynolds when he joins the Broncos next year, but to his future teammates he will be the enemy on Thursday night.
Brisbane is set to send Jordan Riki at him time and again as the defending premiers look to bounce back from an underwhelming round one loss.
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While Brisbane failed to score a point against Penrith, Pezet’s Eels were manhandled by the Storm as his former side crossed for nine tries as Harry Grant carved them up through the middle.
Riki will line up opposite Pezet on Thursday night, with barnstorming centre Kotoni Staggs to play outside of him where the Broncos will look to attack.
“I watched that game, and they were sending some traffic down to him,” Staggs said.
“I think we won’t change that and we’ll probably put Riki on him and make him make tackles.
“I think we can get some joy down that edge.”.
The Storm sent plenty of traffic Pezet’s way, with the playmaker forced to make 21 tackles while he missed two as Melbourne forward Joe Chan racked up 198m and a try from his 16 carries and also gave it to his former teammate after he forced an error.
Pezet left the Storm at the end of the 2025 season and will spend one year at the Eels before he joins Brisbane on a long-term deal.
“We have him next year, but that’s next year,” Staggs said.
“We’ve got to focus on this year now. He’s a Parramatta Eel so we’ll try to play our game against him.”
The round two opener shapes as a must-win clash between two teams reeling from first-up losses where they were completely outplayed by their opponents.
Brisbane’s premiership defence got off to an awful start with a 26-0 loss to a champion Penrith side, with the Broncos completing just 62 per cent of their sets.
It led to the typical fears of a premiership hangover fuelled by Payne Haas’ decision to sign with Souths next year and a shock loss to Hull KR in the World Club Challenge.
“Not at all,” Staggs said when asked about a potential premiership hangover.
“They were better on the night and we just didn’t play our game.
“It was round one and we’ll get better from that and we’ll learn from this game going onwards. It’s only early days.
“In the past we’ve been beaten and teams always come after us, but it doesn’t change the way we need to go about things.
“We just need to focus on what we can do in this building and on the field.
“We’ll watch the game in review and see what we can fix and do better.”
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EX-TIGERS STAR CONFIRMS SUPER LEAGUE SWITCH
The Wests Tigers have confirmed utility Jack Bird’s departure from the club, with the versatile 30-year-old given a fresh lifeline in the Super League.
Leeds Rhinos confirmed Bird’s signing on a two-year contract midway through last month, but the Tigers had to wait until the NRL officially confirmed Bird’s release before announcing he would be leaving the club.
The Tigers said the decision was made “by mutual consent”, with Bird signing a two-year contract with the Rhinos.
“I’m really excited to be joining Leeds Rhinos. It’s a huge club with a proud history and a passionate supporter base,” Bird said last month.
“I know a few of the boys; Brodie Croft and Keenan Palasia could not speak more highly of the club and I can’t wait to get stuck in… I have heard so much about how great the atmosphere is and I’m looking forward to experiencing it for myself and then getting stuck into to training over the next couple of weeks.”
Head coach Brad Arthur said he was confident Bird would be a value add for the Rhinos, declaring he brings “toughness, professionalism and a high level of football intelligence”.
“He’s competed at the top level and understands what it takes to prepare and perform week in, week out,” Arthur added.
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THE BIG PRE-SEASON CHANGE BEHIND SHARKS STAR’S STATEMENT
Cronulla five-eighth Braydon Trindall and Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon stopped short of saying it was the playmaker’s best game for the club, but both agreed that his combination with Nicho Hynes was the best it’s looked in Saturday’s thumping win over the Titans.
It usually takes teams a while to work their way into a new season, but the Sharks duo looked polished after a big pre-season together with the club and in the All Stars game.
Both men scored doubles in the 50-10 victory, with Trindall adding four try assists and a booming 40/20.
“It’s probably the best it’s ever felt with Nicho,” he said after the game.
“We do work hard at it behind closed doors and at training and even off the field when we catch up. We try to stay as connected as we can, and it comes out on the field.”
Trindall may have had the six on his back, but he looked like the dominant half in attack, which Fitzgibbon says isn’t new but is simply clicking better than in previous years.
“It’s not any different to what we’ve always done,” he said.
“The only thing I’d say is that they’re getting better at it. We want to work on if there are six agains and a lot of ball in midfield, then Hynes is on the ball because he’s a runner, so get him on the ball. It’s not complicated.
“And then if we get the opportunity to set things up, then we’ll get ‘Tricky’ (Trindall) on the ball.
“But if Hynes is ahead of Tricky, then there’s not really any right or wrong (answer). We’ve been working on that for a number of years. Tricky knew when to go and he was amazing.”
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The pair combined for a wonderfully worked try late in the half when Hynes drifted behind the ruck to score, with Trindall putting his incredible round one form down to a deliberately more intense pre-season.
“I came back in probably the best shape I’ve ever come back for a pre-season,” he said.
“I think that’s why I’m as fit as I am. I worked really hard during the pre-season to get as fit as I could.
“I just trained more in the off-season. I’ve always left it to the last minute in recent years and have come back in not good nick.
“Maturing a bit (prompted that). Wanting to be better for the boys and the playing group (is why I did it).”
After scoring 50 points on Saturday, the Sharks will face a much tougher test against the Panthers who made an early statement by keeping the defending premiers scoreless in their own backyard.
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Penrith knocked Cronulla out in the 2024 preliminary final, with the Storm doing the same to them last year.
The pain of those losses is driving the Sharks this season, with Trindall and his teammates ready for the battle with Nathan Cleary and his Panther pals.
“It’s a massive factor in motivating this playing group,” he said.
“We worked hard in the off-season, but at the end of the day, it’s just one game, so we’ve got to keep building throughout the year.
“I love the battle and coming up against players like (Cleary), so it should be fun. We’ve just got to get the prep right during the week and then go to Bathurst to play.”
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