The Brisbane Broncos have pulled off a scrappy 12-point win over the Newcastle Knights this evening, solidifying their position in the race for the top four come the end of the season.
The 34-22 win was in no way convincing for the Broncos as they struggled to overcome a Newcastle outfit which battled hard through the night. However, these wins are what finals teams are made of and the Broncos will be happy with the win here this evening.
The game started of well for Newcastle, as they immediately showed everyone how consistent their effort has been all season. The Knights were excellent, pushing the Broncos back at every occasion and were unlucky to not be ahead in the early stages.
Despite this, Brisbane struck first through Jordan Kahu as the underperforming Broncos side drew first blood in the high intensity encounter.
However, the Knights showed tremendous guts as Sione Mata’utia and Danny Levi had the Newcastle outfit in front 12-6 going into the break.
The second half started well for Brisbane, with an immediate response coming through James Roberts who scored a length-of-the-field try to level the scores. Soon Brisbane scored twice more, with Anthony Milford and Tautau Moga putting the Broncos firmly in control in the second half.
The Knights however weren’t done for yet, scoring two back-to-back tries through Chanel Mata’utia and Dane Gagai to bring Newcastle back into it. The Broncos though weren’t to be stopped here tonight, scoring through Korbin Sims and at the death Jonus Pearson to seal the two points here in Newcastle for the Broncos.
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Craig
Guest
I'm not a fan either. However, MILF at the back, Boyd into the centres for Moga, Benji into the halves and Nikorima on the bench. Some serious attacking opportunities in that team. 1. Milford 2. Oates 3. Boyd 4. Roberts 5. Kahu 6. Benji 7. Hunt 9. McCullough 14. Nikorima
steve
Guest
The Broncos play better without Boyd. His stupid stutter step rubbish butchers so many scoring opportunities. Not to mention he shirks the hard slog of bringing the ball out so often to his wingers and centres. Its ridiculous he is lauded as one of the best fullbacks in the game.
Johnybulldog
Guest
Cheers WDD.
William Dalton Davis
Roar Rookie
Boyd may be back next week. Oates is still unknown. They'll assess once the infection is gone.
Johnybulldog
Guest
When will Oates & Boyd be back?
RM
Guest
Hardly a performance for the ages by the Broncos, but they got the job done while missing Boyd, Gillett, McGuire, Oates and Esse-Esse. Take 5 players out of the usual starting 13 and most teams would struggle to get a win, let alone a win while scoring 6 tries. I mentioned it on the liveblog but jeez I won't be sorry to see the back of Moga. He does some great things with his strong carries, and he makes a lot of metres every match, but he seems to butcher at least a try a game.Early in the season I was hoping it was just rust, due to all his injuries but it now seems it's the norm. Normally when a centre makes a line break and he has his winger outside him with just the fullback in front of them, a try is almost a given. Certainly not the case when that centre is Moga... Strangely enough, if he does end up at the Knights I think that will work out well for them. Like I say, he is reliable for making tough carries, he is pretty solid in defence and he makes a lot of metres a match, and I think a team looking to rise from the bottom of the ladder could really use a player like that. For a team like the Broncos though, in the top 4 and with Premiership ambitions, a centre who butchers try-scoring opportunities on a regular basis is a bit of a liability.
The eye
Guest
Losing Mata utiai early was a game changer,Wardle was really giving it to the Bronco forwards early with King, taking him out of the centre of the ruck released the pain nozzle and put him up against the fastest man on the field..and we saw how that ended up..very pleased with the guts factor this side showed up with after last week,which is a tribute to the coaches..and the new signings for next year as released in the press during the week...
PNG Broncos fan88
Roar Guru
Good assessment of the game. The forward pack have been poor last night and against the Storm. It could be that there is disharmony with Blair as captain, McCullough & Thaiday lack energy and are just going through the motions at the moment. A stint in Q cup could fix that up. The way Moga is playing, he should be in the 2nd row and not at centre. Bring Opacic back or slot returning Boyd on the left edge.
jeff dustby
Guest
nice that the Broncos were given an easy game to finish the origin period allowing them to rest players
Craig
Guest
The Broncos and all other teams really need to start making their run for the finals. Milford and Hunt, if both in form are the best halves combination the Broncos have. When in form, as we've seen - are good enough to take them to a grand final, and are up there with the best halves pairings in the competition. If not in form, they're average at best. If they can't get it together, then Marshall is a better option. With Boyd coming back, McGuire, Gillett rested this week, and Oates still to come back. We should be at full fitness and ready to make a charge for the finals.
William Dalton Davis
Roar Rookie
Underperforming broncos side? Gillett and McGuire were rested, Boyd and Oates were injured, a debutant was playing fullback, Milf just came back from a long injury lay off and he and Hunt played their first game together since round 6. I'm surprised they scored as many points as they did.