Rugby league great Cameron Smith has been impressed with the Brisbane Broncos’ form in recent weeks.
Since going down to the Panthers in Round 6, the Broncos have picked up four straight wins, with their last three coming impressively against the Sharks, Rabbitohs and Sea Eagles.
While Smith tips his hat to the Broncos for beating other finals contenders, he’s not ready to anoint them as a contender until they prove themselves against a side like the Panthers or Storm.
“I’d still like to see them perform that way against a Penrith or a Melbourne side,” Smith said on SEN 1170 Breakfast.
“There’s no doubt that outside of those couple of teams they’ve been the most impressive over the past three to four weeks.
“The thing that I’ve been extremely happy about with their game is the way they’re starting matches, they’re playing with a lot of energy.
“Patrick Carrigan, he spent four weeks on the sidelines with a knee injury and he returned against the Rabbitohs in Sydney and punched out something like 62 minutes straight, he got them on the front foot and made that team the force that it was.
“Selwyn Cobbo on the wing (has also been impressive).”
Speaking of Cobbo, Queensland assistant Smith admitted that the young winger is well and truly on the radar of Maroons coach Billy Slater after scoring seven tries in the last four games.
“Billy (Slater) is the boss, you never give instructions up, they come down,” Smith said.
“I had a chat with Billy recently to compare notes and Cobbo was certainly on the radar.
“You can’t ignore the form he is in at the moment and some of the things he can bring to the football side.”
Cobbo and the Broncos will hope to make it five in a row when they host the 15th-placed Knights at McDonald Jones Stadium on Thursday night.