Roar Guru
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.
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Final score
Manly Sea Eagles 14
Brisbane Broncos 24
The Manly Sea Eagles are set to take a home game to the furnace of Suncorp Stadium with an eye on overcoming the Brisbane Broncos. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match from 7:50pm (AEST).
The Sydneysiders will ‘play host’ north of the Tweed for the second year running due to the hike in gate sales found in Brisbane and the fact they want to touch base with their strong Brisbane following.
Manly will be eyeing off their third-straight win tonight off the back of a tenacious two-point win over the Raiders in Canberra and a 46-8 massacre of a hapless Bunnies outfit in the final round before representative round.
Outstanding metres up the middle lit the flame for Manly’s steamrolling of Souths, winger Akuila Uate making the most of his side’s optimal field territory in bagging a quadruplet of tries.
Perched in seventh on the ladder, two crucial competition points will be on offer for Trent Barrett’s men as they look to consolidate their position in the top eight.
Butting heads with the Sea Eagles will be a building Broncos battalion occupying fourth place on the ladder.
After an indifferent start to their 2017 campaign, in which they won two out of their first five games, Wayne Bennett’s men have banked four imperative wins before State of Origin tests their depth once again.
The winning streak started at Suncorp Stadium with a comprehensive 32-8 disposal of the Roosters, and Brisbane have since only recorded a completion set percentage of less than 80 on one occasion.
In line-ups news, Manly have named an unchanged side from their thrashing of the Rabbits, while the Broncos’ James Roberts has been named on an extended bench after sustaining an ankle injury in his side’s match with the Panthers two weeks ago.
David Mead will start on the wing if the former Gold Coast Titan speedster sits out, and forward George Fai will make his NRL debut off the bench.
Prediction
Brisbane have again proved a force to be reckoned with this season at the fortress Suncorp Stadium is, having only fallen in one of their five visits to their home ground this season when a Jonathan Thurston field goal in golden point broke the hearts of the Broncos’ faithful in Round 2.
Expect Brisbane’s meticulous attention to completion of sets and electric attack to thrive off the back of a Broncos-heavy crowd.
Broncos by 12.
Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match from 7:50pm (AEST).