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It was the battle of the boots at Accor Stadium as Matt Burton and Adam Reynolds went toe to toe on Sunday night at Accor Stadium.
In the end, it was Reynolds – ably assisted by Herbie Farnworth – who came out on top with the Broncos edging it 16-10 in the second half to take Brisbane to 2-0 for the season.
It was an old school, attritional game that was decided in the last fifteen minutes by a superb rearguard action from the Queenslanders, who withstood waves of Bulldogs attack to get the win.
For the Broncos, the result compounds the feeling that the culture at the club has changed.
At points in the last two seasons, the Broncos could have been accused of lacking effort, but tonight, as they repelled waves of attack with the game on the line and as players visibly struggled with fatigue and cramp, their commitment could not be doubted for a second.
“It’s a different team this year,” said a proud Kevin Walters. “At the back end of last year I thought we started to make some improvements – it’s good and that’s the thing that won us the game. It’s great stuff.”
“It means that the guys are really working hard for each other and there’s a real care factor that we haven’t seen at this club for a while.
“As a coach, it makes me feel really proud. They’re a tight group and they’re showing up for each other.
“I thought the Bulldogs were pretty bloody good – they threw a lot of attacking shapes at us and we really had to hang on – particularly our goalline defence, which in the past has not been so great, but tonight was where we needed it to be.”
On the other side, Trent Barrett will be wondering how his side managed to score just ten points in a game where they had 59% of possession. For all their ball and – like the Broncos – superb application, the creativity failed when it mattered.
“It was a good game,” said Barrett. “I thought we picked up from where we were last week in terms of attitude and our defensive resolve was really good.”
“We left a lot of tries out there. I think we got over the line four times in the first half and then let two go in the second. It’s just a little bit of finesse on our edges but with continuity and chemistry there, the more they play together they’re going to be better there.”
The Bulldogs coach was less impressed by a bunker call that went against his side for Herbie Farnworth’s winning try.
Barrett through Braidon Burns had been obstructed by a Corey Oates decoy run in the lead up, but the bunker saw no problem with the incident, and implied that if Burns had fallen over he would have been more likely to get the call.
“You can’t do that,” said Barrett of the incident. “That’s something that we need to get answers on. I don’t coach my players to lie down, but maybe I will now.”
While the points did not come for the Dogs at the right moment, Barrett could not fault Matt Burton with the boot.
The Bulldogs five eighth and his Broncos counterpart shared just shy of a thousand kicking metres between them across the 80 minutes.
Burton managed to bamboozle the Broncos back three with regularity, sending spiral bombs into the Sydney sky that Tesi Niu, Selwyn Cobbo and Corey Oates consistently failed to deal with.
Adam Reynolds of the Broncos runs the ball. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Reynolds caused the Dogs backs similar difficulties, though Matt Dufty, Josh Addo-Carr and Jayden Okunbor were more accomplished in coping with the barrage.
He was also robbed of the assist of the season with a between-the-legs pass that Kotoni Staggs got over the line, but failed to ground.
“We needed to get out of our own end,” said Reynolds. “We certainly made it tough for ourselves, we made way too many errors and it became a kickathon at one stage.
“We were just trying to hold on for dear life and get them down their end of the field and build a bit of pressure.”
This was his first game in the famed Broncos 7 jersey, and without even trial footy to call upon, Reynolds was flagging towards the end but still putting his body on the line for his team.
“The lungs were screaming there at one stage,” said the former Souths halfback. “The calves were going on me. I just knew I need to hang in there and keep fighting to the death.
“My teammates around me were helping out as well. The Dogs were fantastic, they threw a lot at us and are a much improved side like ourselves.”
Albert Kelly, largely quiet, had used his own boot to break the game open with a pinpoint chip over Okunbor for Oates to grab the Broncos’ first after Braidon Burns had opened the scoring ten minutes in.
After a fast start, the game descended into the sort of grind that many have thought has been missing from the NRL in recent years.
Tevita Pangai Junior and Payne Haas seemed to be engaging in their own personal war up front in the middle, while Burton and Reynolds fought for supremacy in the skies with a series of booming long kicks.
After a prolonged battle towards the end of the first half and into the second, Jeremy Marshall-King was the one to break the deadlock with a smartly taken try from dummy half.
Herbie Farnworth, not to be outdone, came up with an intelligent play of his own, robbing the ball from Braidon Burns and racing 50m to score.
Staggs was then denied – correctly – by the bunker before Farnworth again intervened, skinning Okunbor to grab the match-winner – confirmed by the bunker despite Bulldogs objections.
Though the English centre made the telling plays on the scoreboard, Kevin Walters was most impressed with his defensive work.
“Herbie has been known for his attacking qualities, but tonight and last week defensively were his best two games for the Broncos,” said the Broncos coach.
“That’s where we need Herbie. We know he can run the ball great and he’s strong and athletic.
“He thinks about the game too, as you can tell from the ball steal, but it’s his defence has been impressing all the coaching staff and his teammates as well.”