A barrage of second-half tries has elevated the Brisbane Broncos to a 24-14 win over the Manly Sea Eagles at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.
Wayne Bennett’s men ran in a quadruplet of tries in the second half to arrest a half-time 14-0 deficit in favour of the Sea Eagles.
Five-eighth Anthony Milford bagged the first of the four unanswered tries just three minutes into the second stanza, the former Raider hurtling onto a beautiful Korbin Sims short-ball from 40 metres out to race away.
A converted Brisbane try then made things 14-12 when an Andrew McCullough bomb split Manly fullback Tom Trbojevic and winger Akuila Uate in the 64th minute deep in their side’s defence.
A bolting David Mead swooped on the crumbs to link with captain Darius Boyd before the Test fullback made no mistake in finding an unmarked Oates on the left edge.
Brisbane had just clinched the lead for the first time, and a few moments of chaos later would virtually put the game to bed when half-back Cody Nikorima snaffled the Broncos’ second try in two minutes.
Clambering up from a play-the-ball 40 metres out from his side’s line, Manly winger Jorge Taufua spilled his lollies after returning a kick, Nikorima pouncing on the loose ball to run away and dot down.
Brisbane put the game beyond all doubt five minutes out from the full-time siren when Oates snared his second four-pointer.
Oates was one of the best on the park in churning out 176 metres and bagging a pair of four-pointers, while Milford’s raw speed and footwork threatened Manly’s defence time and again, the Queensland hopeful crossing for two tries and making 150 metres.
Manly’s Martin Taupau (177 metres, 24 tackles) and Jake Trbojevic (143 metres, 36 tackles) made notable impacts in the middle of the park, while Tom Trbojevic (121 metres, two linebreaks, one try assist, one try) made another timely push for Origin selection before limping off.
It was ‘Turbo Tom’ who crossed for the opening try of the game, the fullback diving over on the left edge just a minute into the contest to kick-start a Manly rampage.
Trent Barrett’s men stormed to another two tries within the opening ten minutes of play, the second of which came through a highly dubious pass that put Jorge Taufua over in the left corner.
The Broncos’ wrestled momentum back to enjoy a flood of possession and optimal field territory for the back end of the opening stanza, but sloppy handling and superb Manly defence would deny them time and again.
Manly will return to north of the Tweed to face the Gold Coast next week, while Brisbane will host the Tigers at Suncorp Stadium.
Final score
Manly Sea Eagles 14
Brisbane Broncos 24
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