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The highs and lows of Round 25 rugby league

29th August, 2015
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The Milf is one of the NRL's wonderful little men. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
Expert
29th August, 2015
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Sport can be so exhilarating and so devastating, as Anthony Milford and Geoff Toovey found out to kick-off the NRL’s penultimate round.

The Broncos’ 21-year-old Milford turned in one of the most exhilarating performances this season with three big busts on Thursday night that led to three tries before he scored two himself in a man of the match epic.

But it was devastation last night for Manly’s legendary 46-year-old Toovey who ended his near three decade association with the club by having to watch his team being hammered by the Roosters.

Anthony Milford, now there’s a name we are going to mention often in glowing terms in the future. The way he carved up the Rabbitohs defence at Allianz with hardly a hand being laid on him was extraordinary.

His dancing feet were the keys, and how he effortlessly swerved his small 178-centimetre 85-kilogram frame around far bigger opposition made them look foolish grabbing at fresh air.

Add his express speed, and we are looking at a State of Origin-Kangaroo rep far sooner than later.

Milford’s understanding with halfback Ben Hunt makes them the most dangerous pivots of the competition. Not to be outdone, Hunt chimed in with three tries of his own.

That was an explosive but controlled display by the Broncos, as coach Wayne Bennett moves serenely towards his record eighth NRL title.

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Geoff Toovey would have dearly loved to be in the mix for a last ditch crack at the premiership, but the shock loss to Parramatta last round, and last night’s big loss to the Roosters killed the dream.

But before that, Manly’s mahogany row killed Toovey’s coaching career by shabbily sacking him. Last night was Toovey’s final appearance at Brookvale where he cemented his legend status as player, coach, and damn good bloke since 1988.

It wasn’t to be.

Down 16-6 at the break, Manly were still in with a sniff until the Roosters put the pedal to the metal in the second half, and that was that.

Among many, there was a large hand-painted placard at Brookvale last night that read

“Geoff Toovey
Better player.
Better coach.
Better man.”

Obviously aimed at incoming coach Trent Barrett, who has a mountain to climb to win over the Manly faithful who will have ‘Tooves’ in their bucket wish list for a long time.

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Surprisingly, there were striking similarities in the first two games of the round:

Both visiting teams won – the Broncos at Allianz, the Roosters at Brookvale – and the scorelines were almost identical – the Broncos won 47-12, the Roosters 46-10.

Both won scoring eight tries to two:

Broncos – Ben Hunt three, Anthony Milford two, Jordan Kahu and Corey Oates one each.
Roosters – Brendan Elliott three, Daniel Tupou three, Aidan Guerra and Isaac Liu one each.

And despite the fact both games were vital for many reasons, both crowds were poor – Allianz 12,036, Brookvale 12,911.

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