Brisbane shrugged off a week of judiciary dramas and the late withdrawal of star half Peter Wallace to record a fifth straight NRL win over Canberra on Friday night.
The Raiders’ 30-6 loss was made even more painful due to the half-time loss of skipper Terry Campese with suspected medial ligament damage.
One of several players being considered by coach Ricky Stuart for the NSW Origin five-eighth job, Campese will have scans on Monday.
His latest knee injury however is not as serious as that suffered in 2010 with initial indications he could be out for two to four weeks.
Brisbane took the field without Wallace (groin) and Ben Te’o, who was suspended on Wednesday night for two matches, but their absence was barely noticeable as young guns Ben Hunt and man-of-the-match Corey Norman, who continues to improve with every game, produced outstanding performances in the halves.
The Raiders were on the job early with forward Joe Picker winning a scramble to halfback Josh McCrone’s fourth-minute grubber for a 6-0 lead.
But the Green Machine ran out of fuel early as Brisbane piled on tries to Sam Thaiday (19th minute), Ben Hannant (28th), Matt Gillett (35th) and Norman (39th) for a 20-6 half-time lead.
With Campese out of action, a Canberra recovery was always going to be difficult.
It became impossible when Hunt was rewarded with a long range try in the 53rd minute, set up by a weaving run out of dummy half by centre Justin Hodges, who evaded four defenders before off-loading.
Utility Gillett put more pressure on Australian selectors to pick him for the Test against New Zealand with two classy passages of play late in the first half.
The first displayed his footwork and strength in beating hooker Glen Buttriss and fullback Reece Robinson for his fourth try of the season.
The second, a last ditch flick pass for the first of Norman’s two tries, was even better.
Hunt and Norman, who had played a lot together in Brisbane’s Under-20 side, combined superbly with Hunt making the most of his opportunity to shine in Wallace’s absence.
Canberra late inclusion Joel Thompson was put on report in the 48th minute for a swinging arm in a tackle which missed the mark and hit teammate Picker who finished with close to 50 tackles.
Brisbane fullback Josh Hoffman sent a message to New Zealand coach Stephen Kearney with a tireless performance, clocking up 250 metres despite taking some heavy punishment.
jdubya
Guest
Aren't you also admitting that by the Broncos being the only team in Brisbane (and dominating Queenlsand) is a massive advantage. What other team can claim to have as many rep stars as the Broncs every single year for decades? The league should not be set up to compensate for anything. Complaining that you have too many rep players is a bit rich.
KSI
Guest
I think you are right. I was a 5/8. Maybe that's why you forgot. To many heads in scrums.
Ned
Guest
Really KSI, I think the "referees" get called all sorts of things!!! AND I bet I have packed into more scrums than you have had hot breakfasts!
KSI
Guest
You must not know much. Since when do we call Referees "Umps" in Rugby League.
Ned
Guest
Is she a swimmer or a runner or a netballer or hockey player, in fact I don't care! I was watching the footy and Lockyer didn't ask her any questions on the footy! Why can they not leave that crap until half time NOT during the game. And while I'm at it why does Nine have such a biased commentary team for broncos games, surely half of those watching are not one eyed broncos fans, so effectively Nine chooses to insult half their audience with its crass broncos fan club of callers. How hard is it to put an at least one neutral commentator on the team. This is something Fox Sports does so much better having a somewhat larger pool of (better) commentators. Anyway the broncos were good.
Gaz
Guest
Unfortunately, looks like you can now add Hoffman to that list as well.
Behold
Roar Rookie
So many people whinge about this 7 day turn around but Broncos aren't getting the 8 or 9 day turn around that other clubs get. Which means that players can have an extended break or gives the team extra time with injured players. This has their pros and cons and consistent turn around isn't always the best. We also havent played on a Sunday afternoon which the club prefers as it makes a better time slot for parents to take children to the games.
Roarsome
Guest
Don't forget all this with no Teo, Wallace or Yow Yea. -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download The Roar's iPhone App in the App Store here.
The Gunning Eagle
Guest
Just wrote about this on TGE. This Broncos side has really hit strength far sooner than I expected, the hangover post-Locky seeming to last about five minutes before they settled down to business. Corey Norman and Matt Gillett were absolutely outstanding!
Gaz
Guest
Do you mean when Tom Leroy dropped the ball in front of the post, got a penalty and the ref winked at him?
DragonMik
Guest
It seems that teams just don't try when they play the Broncos. A Raiders team playing like last week would've really challenged the Broncos. Also, did anyone else notice that once the game was sealed the ref started giving the Raiders a few penalties. To try and even up the tally I guess.
oikee
Guest
P.S, at least you wont get any more than Lockyer being Lockyer, so no pretensions, no crap, he is what he is, maybe that annoys some people, ? who knows. I would prefer someone who is straight forward down to earth, than bull-hitting me to tears. This is why i wont be watching the voice, please.
oikee
Guest
Mate, a bit harsh mate. That girl is olympic gold medilist, and a queenslander and a bronco fan. Gee whiz, glad you aint my favorite fan. Look, Canberra scored first, Lockyer said they werew flat, needed to lift, they got a penalty, ,lifted, and never looked back, as far as i could see, Canberra had no go forward, Leroy Shillo and Tilse were not on fire, mate Petro Hannet and co lifted, your boys did not seem to have the same effect, or do you want rugby league to sit around and give creampuffs a leg-up. :) Ohhh, sinking the boot in now. :) Look, you can get me back one year when your team lifts against my Bronx, but this year you look like you might not make the 8 or get the chance, bad luck son. :) Yes it is only early, but the Bronx are looking good for top 8. Cheers.
PLANKO
Guest
You started poorly and a better team would have put you away. Missing all those kicks would have also hurt you if you had been playing a contender ! I know you are going to carry on about injuries but everyone has them except for evil empire at Melbourne(insert sarcasim).. Ben hannant will not be in the test team they will pick a Gallen in the front row due to their being a lot of good second rowers and locks around.
Ned
Guest
Loved the work of Nine in endlessly promoting its olympic coverage during the game. Even had the legend Lockyer sideline interviewing someone who knows nothing about footy but who is going to the olympics whilst the game was on. Absolutely shameless. Then there was some show called the viouce. As for the game, how many forward passes were missed by the umps from both teams and how long did canberra have to wait till its first penalty. Was the video ref really looking for a reason not to give the canberra try. Seemed Canberra didn't come to the game with any plan of attack. Broncos were good but couldn't take too much away from it apart from the points.
oikee
Guest
Oh Gawd, after whigning about Mcullock for the last 2 years, he also must be in the mix, as Laurie would say. Yes Roarsome, we might lose a few players, but they are all now signed for at least 2-3 years. So we get a prety good run outta this lot, and i think this could be the way the NRL pans out, bringing through a new group, blooding them for a couple of years, then 3 years of magic, then loss, and start again. Not a bad system as it keeps the comp even. And the Bronx, i just love my Bronx now, they can do no wrong, the coach is not bad either.
oikee
Guest
And that is why we get looked after, i will do a quick count for you to see how many we might lose to rep duties . Hannet, Maybe Petro, Teo if he is not suspended, maybe Corey Parker, Alex Glenn to NZ along with Hoffman, Hodges and Reed if he desides to play for England, YehYoow got injured and Wallace maybe. Who else, maybe Beale, and Macguire all in contention. The point i am trying to make is the Broncos are ripe for the pickings of rep games, the NRL must allow for this because we get hammered with injuries and burn-out. Or do you just want us to be punished to the stage where we would be better off playing darts. If the Raiders were in this position, we would give them some leg-room, but lets face it, only a couple of their players might be picked. After last nights hammering, i dont know if you would pick any. ;) Sorry Sammy, glad i had 10 minutes to edit, i forgot about Thaiday night footy, Sammy.
Red Block
Guest
What a joke. The Broncos get 7 days rest in between each game. The Raiders this week got 4 days to recover and then plan the downfall of the Broncos. The Broncos look better rested and more prepared than a leg weary Raiders outfit. Can you imagine the whinging out of the Broncos camp if the roles were reversed? Expect the Broncos to come back to the fold, later in the season when rep duties and the physical toll tells on their young squad. It is then that Lockyer will really be missed. -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download The Roar's iPhone App in the App Store here.
Roarsome
Guest
This has to be the Broncos year. In 2013 the vultures will be out and the Broncos will once again boost the stocks of other NRL clubs. There aren't too many clubs that haven't poached a Bronco in his prime. -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download The Roar's iPhone App in the App Store here.
The Greatest Game Of All
Guest
Corey Norman is going to be something special.