Brisbane have a premiership to defend, a superstar fullback ready to dazzle, and a squad that looked every bit like a dynasty in the making.
Instead, three games into 2026, the Broncos find themselves staring at an 0-2 record (0-3 including World Club Challenge vs Hull K.R.), being defeated in England and embarrassed at home by the Panthers, then gutted in the dying minutes by a resurgent Parramatta side.
The same wounds keep opening. The same lapses keep appearing.
The final scoreboard keeps hurting.
This isn't bad luck, a bad draw, or a bad week.
This is a team repeatedly making the same six mistakes, and until they're fixed, the premiership defence is over in everything but name.
3. Conceding tries off kicks
The Broncos have a damaging problem to their defence, with the Broncos being one of the worst defensive teams in the game when it comes to their kick defence.
Against Hull KR, the Broncos let in four tries off kicks.
Panthers created two tries off kicks, one being indirect, and the Eels had a magical display from Pezet's short kicking game, including Pezet's short grubber that sealed the win for the Jason Ryles-coached side.
It's worth noting that Pezet fell and was able to get back up to put the ball over the line, showing concerns of urgency from Brisbane defensively.
The Broncos work hard for the first five tackles in some of their sets and switch off the moment a kick is executed.
That’s a perceptive analysis.
I’d summarise it by saying that most of the players are not concentrating on what they have been trained to do.
If each one does what he is supposed to do (and has the skill to do) then the team would not have the problems that it is facing.