Mitchell Pearce and Luke Keary are the form halves pairing in the competition but Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett believes his team can stop the impressive Sydney Roosters halfback and five-eigth.

The Broncos tackle the Tricolours tonight at Suncorp Stadium in a blockbuster.

Bennett says the Broncos have played against the pair enough to know what to expect.

“They have all played against them a number of times,” he said.

“The smart players work out how to defend them very quickly.

“They are talented players and they will challenge you all night.

“But we have played against those blokes before in different teams.

“It’s like Jonathan Thurston – they are going to keep coming at you, so you just have to keep knocking them over and stopping them.”

Brisbane have lost a number of close matches to begin 2017 including a disappointing 10-7 loss to the Canterbury Bulldogs while the Roosters dropped their first match of the season with Manly scoring a last minute try at Allianz Stadium last Friday.