Kotoni Staggs is sure that this Brisbane Broncos playing group—which he says has become a “brotherhood” this season—has what it takes to beat the juggernaut Penrith Panthers come Sunday evening, especially after battling through the wooden spoon lows of the last few years.
At the turn of the decade, the Broncos were in the doldrums. The club was barrelling toward a wooden spoon and although there were rising starlets in the squad, things were looking dire for the team many have come to expect at the pointy end of every NRL campaign.
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To come through those kinds of trials and struggles would bring anyone closer and Staggs says it definitely has done just that for the young Brisbane stars who have now battled all the way to the 2023 NRL grand final.
To have sunk to those depths, he says, and come through will make winning all the sweeter.
“There’s a few players here that were through the lows… and [those times are] always in the back of your mind,” the Broncos centre admitted.
He continued: “You don’t forget them, not really, but you can move forward, play good footy. That’s what this club is about, what it’s become, and it’s turned up into a bunch of boys here that can make a statement. We’ve made it a brotherhood here, and it’s probably going to be the last time this group plays together like this.
“I want to do it with this team, I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else.”
Even more incredibly, Staggs is actually preparing to celebrate his 100th match on Sunday too. He debuted with the Broncos back in 2018 and is now on the verge of becoming an NRL centurion. In those 99 games, he’s scored 44 tries, kicked 56 goals, and grown into one of the best backs in the country’s premier rugby league comp.
It may be a huge milestone for him, but he wasn’t counting down the days; Staggs had to be told he would be clocking up his three-digit game when he marched out against the Panthers at Homebush.
“I just got told the other day!” he told media on Wednesday.
“100th game is huge. I only dreamed to play one so to get to 100 is something I never really though I would do, especially not at the club I love. I’m so grateful. Now I want to go out there and play my best footy for the Broncos and do my job.”
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The Broncos face the two-time defending champions the Panthers at ANZ Stadium at 7.30pm on Sunday, October 1. Penrith are $1.64 favourites to make it three in a row.
