Master coach Wayne Bennett has finally won a finals match at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane downing North Queensland 16-12 in their NRL qualifying final on Saturday night.
The second-ranked Broncos are one step closer to ending their longest title drought and vying for trophy No.7, earning a home preliminary final and a week off with the two tries a piece thriller.
And any doubts Bennett hasn’t got his winning groove back upon his return to Brisbane after a seven-year hiatus were erased when he finally broke his finals duck at their home ground.
Remarkably the win in front of 50,388 fans marked Bennett’s first finals win at Suncorp Stadium, ending an eight-game losing run (six with Broncos, two with Dragons).
Brisbane also notched their maiden finals win over Queensland rivals the Cowboys, who will host the winner of Sunday’s Cronulla-South Sydney clash in an elimination final next week.
Played at a frantic pace, something had to give in the second half in a classic derby – and a gutsy North Queensland were the ones who blinked.
With Johnathan Thurston threatening to spark the Cowboys, Brisbane bench utility Kodi Nikorima’s bust launched pivot Anthony Milford toward the tryline in the 65th minute to make it 16-6.
Thurston wasn’t to be denied, scoring in the 71st minute off a Justin O’Neill grubber to make it a four-point ball game when he converted.
However, a rare poor kick from Thurston on the final play of the game sealed a memorable triumph in front of a sell-out crowd – Brisbane’s first finals win since 2011.
North Queensland haven’t won an away final since 2005.
They had scored the most second-half points this year than any other team and had outscored their opponents 44-0 in the final 20 minutes of their last three matches.
The Cowboys dropped their guard in the first half, a Gavin Cooper slip letting Broncos No.7 Ben Hunt dart through to score the opening try in the 27th minute and set up Brisbane’s 8-2 halftime lead.
Superman
Guest
Gotta disagree.. even before Gus chimed in in the first half, me and all my mates were thinking 'geez this is a quality, fast game'
Jimmmy
Guest
I am surprised myself that I agree with Gus but the Bronc Cowboys game was one of the best games I have.seen this season. If EJ thinks that game lacked intensity I would love to see an intense one. It would need to involve military weapons.
Jimmmy
Guest
GA , I thought Morgan should have run at the gap. I am sure he was through but if not he would have been able to offload behind the defender. You just can't afford to blow chances love this in the big games. In his defence he may be fully fit yet I thought his speed looked down .
Jimmmy
Guest
I sure hope you're right Con. Melbourne in Melbourne worry the hell out of me but you gotta be able to win anywhere to call yourself champion.
Con Scortis
Roar Guru
I think the Cowboys have the game to beat the Storm. The Storm want your big men charging straight at the defensive line as they can get two or three tacklers on and apply the wrestle. Am not having a go at them, that's just their thing. Whereas the Cowboys have a creative game and can mix up their attack and stifle the Storms wrestling tactics. Newcastle showed how to beat the Storm. Run lots of angles, plenty of inside passing and offloads and don't run straight at em.
Justthetip
Guest
Can't agree more. Broncos look like there's at least 5 years of top 4 finishes ahead.
up in the north
Roar Rookie
Still funny though.
Samtwocan
Guest
I meant that in the nicest possible way , gotta admire the QLD passion for the game .
up in the north
Roar Rookie
Ha ha. I think it was 50odd k. But very witty. Seems there's no pleasing some folk.
eagleJack
Roar Guru
Haven't seen the game yet, except for some snippets. Was very surprised by the scoreline! Thought the Dogs would run amok.
Renegade
Roar Guru
I was at the dragons-dogs game and it was not a finals quality match. Watched the Broncos-Cowboys game at the pub and it definitely seemed a few notches above and a lot quicker. But if Gus was saying it was a great game that has me second guessing myself :P lol
Renegade
Roar Guru
Really, I don't think it was the game of the season but that was as exciting a game I've seen.... End to end stuff. Maybe the fact the dogs-dragons game was so poor had an influence on the perception of quality in the second match. It was the best game of the finals series so far though.
Samtwocan
Guest
I thought it was a similar game to Friday night . Both games never really offered anything special except the closeness at the end . I have to say that it must have been an amazing atmosphere to be at the game though, Suncorp full to the gills on a Saturday night 40,000 people that equates to 80,000 heads no wonder there was so much noise ?
Muzz
Guest
I loved the Dogs v Dragons game. It had me engrossed! The sudden death scenario adds another dimension to it all.
eagleJack
Roar Guru
Yeah Muzz I'm pretty surprised by some of the comments on here about how good the game was. Perhaps it played out well on TV. And no doubt Gus has an influence. But plenty sitting around me felt the same way as I did. Neither team pushed the boundaries and both played very safe. It was high stakes so neither wanted to make errors, but to me it lacked intensity. Simple sets, followed by an uncontested kick to the back 3, dominated the game.
Muzz
Guest
I'm with you eJ however Gus kept banging on that how it was the game of the season so we must be wrong. I love the influence he has on the sheeple of the world.
Bronco Juggernaut
Guest
Probably not, but as along as a QLD team wins the comp I'm happy.
eagleJack
Roar Guru
Pretty average game in my opinion, was expecting more. Not a lot of intensity and very basic game plans put forward by both teams. Complete sets and not risk anything. Perfectly suited to the Broncos who were in control from the first minute. At no stage did they look like losing despite the closeness of the scoreline at the death. Was great to see Nikorima and Milford combine for a try - one of the few highlights. Cowboys just not good enough at the business end of the season. No surprise as they haven't impressed many in the past few months. Roosters still the favourites to take out the comp IMO
Grand Armee
Guest
Credit to the Broncos defence for contributing it, but we just lacked a bit of speed/fluency with some of our last passes. We had opportunities to score tries, but when we had them, the pass was not quite quick and flat enough for the centre and winger. Ethan Lowe just needed to hold onto a ball, and if Morgo had his time again, he would have kicked instead of tried to pass (when Milford intercepted) as we had the numbers. A high quality game, and some of the credit has to go to Brisbane for disrupting our execution enough, and counter attacking with some nice tries to their halves.
up in the north
Roar Rookie
I'm not even close to being despondent about that game. It was fantastic. The result could've been a bit better but I can live with that. What impressed the hell out of me was the level of commitment across both teams, the respect for your opponents and the skills displayed , truly awesome. They talk about the one percent things being so important and the Bronc's won that stat' . They were just that little bit better on the night and congratulations to them. So now it's either the sharkies or Bunnies at home. No wuckers. After that, if I've got it right , we'll play against the Storm in week three. Cool.