Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett says two wins on the road in six days during the notoriously tough State of Origin period is a real bonus for the NRL club.
The Broncos followed last Monday’s away win against Newcastle with a 24-12 victory over Canberra at a chilly GIO Stadium on Saturday, both minus some of their biggest names.
Maroons stars Justin Hodges and Sam Thaiday were rested, yet Bennett’s men – four of whom backed up from Wednesday’s Origin I – were still too strong for the Raiders who slumped to a third straight defeat.
Their poor starts again proved costly – finding themselves down 12-0 in the opening 15minutes, they never fully recovered.
“Tonight was good, they got the job done,” said Bennett.
“It was difficult for them; we played Monday night in Newcastle, Origin – we weren’t even home for two days and we were back on the road again.
“It’s wonderful, it’s great (to get two from two). It’s a real bonus for us.”
Jack Reed, Jordan Kahu and Corey Oates all got on the board but it was Lachlan Maranta’s four-pointer on the stroke of half time that provided arguably the highlight of the season.
Ben Hunt looked to take the ball out of touch as the siren blew but a clever kick, some creative passing and a few pirouettes in a seemingly endless play got Lachlan Maranta over the line for a 16-12 lead.
“I know we still have 14 (rounds) to go but I’m prepared to say that will be try of the year!” Australian captain Cameron Smith tweeted.
Broncos skipper Corey Parker agreed.
“It was probably one of the tries of the year,” he said. “It had a bit of everything.
“In the end, our willingness to turn up for each other has got us home again.”
Bennett appeared to crack a rare smile after watching the whole-of-team effort but later said he was far from impressed.
“I didn’t have good thoughts on that try,” he said.
“I wasn’t happy with where we put ourselves after leading 12-nil. We’re getting excited for 30 seconds of magic but that last 20 minutes of that first half were rubbish from us.
“They tell me they got me on TV smiling but that wasn’t because of the try – there was a guy in the stand … who just called out to me and said `hey, Clint, I saw Gran Torino yesterday and it was your best ever performance’.”
Raiders coach Ricky Stuart was less jovial post-match, walking out on a media conference after refusing to answer questions.
“Todd Greenberg (NRL’s head of football), he was at the game tonight, and I just really hope he saw what I saw,” he said.
“It’s a lot healthier for our club if I don’t go any further into this press conference.”
They next play Manly at home on Friday, while the Raiders travel to Newcastle on Saturday.
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