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Champion five-eighth Darren Lockyer has sounded a warning to his old coach Wayne Bennett with a vintage performance in Brisbane’s sparkling 58-24 demolition of Penrith at Suncorp Stadium.
Two weeks after enduring the most embarrassing loss in the club’s history at the hands of Canberra, Brisbane piled on 10 tries, half of them orchestrated by Lockyer.
Brisbane’s performance, which included big games from Lockyer, Karmichael Hunt, Justin Hodges, Sam Thaiday, Corey Parker, Nick Kenny and Peter Wallace, nursing a hamstring injury, was badly needed before fronting up against Bennett’s front-running Dragons in Wollongong next Friday night.
Penrith led 24-18 at half time on the back of a hotly disputed Trent Waterhouse try.
But they had no answer to Brisbane’s seven-try, second-half blitz that knocked them out of the top eight and lifted Brisbane back into it.
Penrith didn’t register another point as Brisbane finally found the defensive steel sadly lacking over the past two months when they leaked over 300 points.
Bewildered Panthers coach Matt Elliott didn’t hide his anger at his player’s flimsy second-half effort.
Asked if it was was “unacceptable” he said: “Yes. Absolutely.
“There was no sniff of that at all,” he said.
“It was a really important game, important for both teams, but only one side responded the way you would like.”
Brisbane’s bench also starred with an inspired Ben Te’o grabbing two tries, the second off a spectacular piece of play out wide by giant forward Dave Taylor, while Ashton Sims pulled out his best game of the year.
Lockyer said facing up to a Dragons team whose seven-game winning streak ended on Saturday night against Canberra would be a massive challenge.
“They’re the best team in the comp defensively and we don’t want to be leaking points against them,” he said after his best game of the season.
“We had an opportunity (today) to make a bit of noise and we did. The next fortnight (Dragons and Cowboys away) will be pretty crucial for us.
“It’s going to be pretty daunting going down there. They (Dragons) are coming off a loss which doesn’t help our cause.
“They’ll be pumped and we’ll find out where we are.”
Broncos coach Ivan Henjak said there was “no chance” his players would get carried away by the scoreline knowing they has to back up against the competition leaders on Friday.
“I don’t think we’ll be getting carried away… geez,” he laughed.
“I know they got beaten last night (Saturday) but they’ve been very solid all year.
“They’re very tough to score against, their defence is great.
“Even though we scored a lot of points today we know it’s going to be a lot tougher in Wollongong, they just don’t give you much.”
Snapshot of round 23 in the NRL:
THEY SAID IT: “We need to really have a reality check now if we are going to go any further in the season.” Cowboys coach NEIL HENRY delivers a blunt assessment following their 22-12 loss to the Bulldogs on Friday night.STAT THAT MATTERS: 40-nil. The emphatic score Brisbane put on Penrith in the second half in a 58-24 victory that indicates the Broncos can still be a force in this year’s premiership race.
MAN OF THE ROUND: Wests Tigers superstar BENJI MARSHALL celebrated his 100th NRL game in typically stunning style with two tries and eight conversions for 24 points in their 56-10 thrashing of Cronulla.
MAGIC MOMENT: Parramatta fullback JARRYD HAYNE. The most in-form player in the NRL juggled his chip and chase with one hand before offloading for a teammate to score a try in the Eels’ 40-4 thumping of the Warriors.
TALKING POINT: The Dragons stumble while the likes of Parramatta and the Tigers keep charging. Then Brisbane and Manly come back to life with smashing wins. A year of off-field dramas is being surpassed by some incredible on-field action. What a finish to 2009.
JUDICIARY WATCH: Titans: William Zillman (biting); Dragons: Jeremy Smith (late tackle); Tigers: Todd Payten (lifting tackle)
KEY INJURIES: Rabbitohs: Michael Crocker (ankle), Beau Champion (knee); Titans: Preston Campbell (lower leg); Sea Eagles: Steve Matai (eye socket); Dragons: Michael Weyman (concussion); Raiders: Scott Logan (cheekbone); Bulldogs: Jarrad Hickey (concussion), Michael Hodgson (calf). Cowboys: Willie Tonga (concussion); Sharks: Paul Gallen (groin); Panthers: Luke Lewis (hip)
UNDER PRESSURE: Penrith coach MATTHEW ELLIOTT. The Panthers faded out of finals contention last year and dropped out of the top eight this weekend after conceding 40 unanswered points to Brisbane after leading at halftime. Facing Souths, Parramatta and Newcastle in their last three games, the Panthers can still make it if they’re good enough.
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