Brisbane have refused to blame the smaller field dimensions for their uncharacteristically clunky attack during the round one loss to the Sydney Roosters in Las Vegas.
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The Broncos' expansive attack was their calling card en route to the 2023 grand final, with fullback Reece Walsh announcing himself as the game's most electric ball-runner last season.
But a gritty Roosters outfit held the Broncos to only 10 points, their fewest in 16 games, in a bruising encounter at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday night (Sunday AEDT).
The Broncos were particularly meek in the first 40 minutes as halves pairing Adam Reynolds and Ezra Mam struggled to imprint themselves on the game.
Pre-match predictions held that the two contests in Las Vegas could feature fewer points due to changes in the field dimensions; using an NFL stadium reduced the playing field by close to six metres in length and width.
But the first match, a 36-24 win for Manly over South Sydney, did not want for tries and the Broncos were hesitant to blame the foreign conditions for their own 20-10 loss.
"The field was the same dimensions for both teams," said coach Kevin Walters.
"We just didn't execute how we wanted to. A bit of that is some credit to the Roosters but also late in the game we were trying to grab points and we pushed a couple of passes.
"It's all learnings for us and it's round one so we've got plenty to go."
Brisbane's creative architect Reynolds admitted it felt foreign playing at Allegiant Stadium.
"The field dimensions are different, the stadium is different. It was a lot different but we still had a good preparation through the week," he said.
The Broncos missed the chance to bounce straight back from the 2023 grand final defeat but Walters found positives in the side's defence and the tweaks he has made to his backline.
"(The Roosters put) 20 (points) on the board but an intercept and a try from a kick, the last try they sliced through. (That) was somewhere we can get a bit better," Walters said.
"But I thought generally both teams defended really well."
Selwyn Cobbo has shifted to the centres to compensate for Herbie Farnworth's move to the Dolphins, meaning Deine Mariner is poised to become Brisbane's first-choice winger on the right.
Mariner slid over for Brisbane's first try by pouncing on a kick from Walsh but Cobbo had fewer chances to inject himself into the game.
"(Mariner) was really good for us, a nice try that he picked up and I thought defensively he made some good decisions as well, with his tackles," Walters said.
"I thought defensively (Cobbo) was very good.
"With the attack, he did some good things but he wasn't really ever in the game, which is a little bit to do with the width of the field and also the good defence, the pushing defence of the Roosters."
Australian Associated Press
