NRL icon and QLD Maroons coach Billy Slater has predicted that the Brisbane Broncos can still make the NRL finals this season but will have to do it without star duo Ezra Mam and Payne Haas.
Sustaining injuries last weekend against the Gold Coast Titans, the star duo are set for extended stints on the sidelines as they watch their teammates attempt to still make the finals.
While not impossible, the Broncos will have to win their next four matches against the North Queensland Cowboys, Parramatta Eels, Dolphins and Melbourne Storm if they have any chance of playing finals football in September.
However, Billy Slater believes they can still make the improbably and shouldn't be written off even though they have lacked consistency and won't run out with their best 17 due to injuries.
"I'm not willing to write them off right now," Slater said on The Billy Slater Podcast.
"You're out when you mathematically can't make the finals. I feel that the magic number is 30 points and there's five games to go and they're sitting on 20 points. If they win their last five games, they finish on 30 and they've got a pretty good for and against.
"It's gonna be really hard โฆ they've got a few tough games coming up. They're as much of a chance as a few of the other teams in the competition.
"I get the feeling that it's near impossible to play finals, but I don't write anyone off until they are mathematically out."
The statement from Billy Slater comes after he previously predicted The Dolphins to be the 'dark horse' to win the 2024 NRL Premiership.
Speaking onย The Billy Slater Podcast, Slater believed The Dolphins can contend with the likes of Penrith, Melbourne and the Sydney Roosters as the season enters the back end of the competition.
"They are a team that not everyone is really noticing at the moment," Slater stated.
"They really took it to the Panthers. I think everyone is waiting for the Dolphins to fall over, but the one thing they are getting right is the hard part of the game and the simple part of the game right and the foundation and that's what puts pressure on you."
"If they can do that at the right time of the year, they're not gonna beat themselves - you're gonna have to go out there and beat them," he added.
"I think they can be a real thorn in the finals series and they can cause some trouble.
"I'm not saying they are my pick for the premiership, but why not? That's the other thing I ask myself."
