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Brisbane put in their worst performance of the season but maintained their unbeaten record by coming from behind to outsmart St George Illawarra at Suncorp Stadium in an incredible finish which Dragons coach Anthony Griffin could only describe as bizarre.
The Dragons were the better team for most of the contest but the Broncos delivered when it counted, breaking an 18-18 deadlock with a Selwyn Cobbo try eight minutes from full-time to power their way to a 40-18 triumph.
In the end the scoreline not only flattered the Broncos it was unbelievable with four tries in the closing stages blowing out the victory margin. Reece Walsh was the catalyst, setting up the try for Cobbo and notching two of his own in the late blitz.
“There was nothing in the game for 70 minutes. It was a bizarre last 10,” Griffin said.
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Brisbane won plenty of admirers with their resolute defence in Round 1 when they upset the premiers at Penrith and were just as impressive in attack in beating the Cowboys in their second outing.
Kotoni Staggs scores. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
This time around their attack was clunky and the Dragons split them open for four line breaks but in the big moments, they delivered.
Adam Reynolds landed a two-point field goal on the stroke of half-time to reduce the deficit at the break to two and his kicking game in general was a constant thorn in the Dragons’ side.
Walsh was quiet for a lot of the contest but burst into action in the final stages as the Broncos ran in four late tries to remain at the top of the NRL ladder.
Their classy centres, Kotoni Staggs and Herbie Farnworth, need to get involved or made to become more involved by being set up more by the playmakers.
Staggs scored two tries and looked threatening whenever he was given a glimmer of space to operate while Farnworth tallied the quietest 153 running metres without having too much influence on proceedings.
Broncos coach Kevin Walters paid credit to his senior players for being vocal in telling the team at half-time what needed to be done to turn the match around.
The victory sets up a Round 4 showdown between two unbeaten teams when the Broncos take on the Dolphins and Brisbane’s greatest coach Wayne Bennett at Suncorp Stadium, which is already sold out, but Walters was not too fussed with talking up their cross-town foes, even denying that they are indeed their rivals.
“That’s for next week, we’re still in this week. “We’ve got to enjoy tonight’s win and put that to bed tomorrow or Monday and then we’ll get onto our game next week,” he said.
“I guess that’s why the Dolphins were put in Brisbane, was to create that rivalry. We’re not rivals of the Dolphins, we’re the Broncos. That’s what our club, that’s who we are and that’s what our mindset is – we’re the Broncos.
“I haven’t even thought about next week, to be honest. There’s some things we need to fix up, particularly our defence. We let in a couple of soft tries on the left and right side. We’ll fix that up, work hard and get ready for the team we’re playing next week,” he added, not naming the opposition this time around, a ploy he has used in the past.
“We know Wayney, don’t worry. It’s great for the game, it’s going to be a good spectacle.”
St George Illawarra under Anthony Griffin are not known for subtlety. They can be blunt in attack and defence, sometimes it works, other times they shoot themselves in the foot.
A lack of thinking hurt them at critical times.
Moses Suli touched the ball before it had travelled 10 metres from a line drop-out to concede a penalty.
They were also in trouble with the ref for being offside from a kick-off.
Young winger Mat Feagai gave away a dopey penalty too when he made a strong tackle but then took the bait when Staggs ran at him when he had failed to get anywhere near back onside on the next play.
These are the kinds of incidents which turn up the pressure when they should be on the ascendancy.
Jayden Sullivan scores. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
The form of young prospects Tyrell Sloan and Jayden Sullivan was encouraging for the visitors. Sloan, the speedy fullback who was given few opportunities last season, scored a try in the first half and made a great cover tackle late to deny Cobbo a try while Sullivan also touched down after an incisive run close to the line.
“We had control of the game in the first half, we just didn’t come out with enough intensity, defensively, in the second half,” Griffin said.
“Really tough conditions out there and one team was gonna crack and unfortunately I think we’d only had 10 sets to their 20 by that stage and five inside-20s to their 25 and it just tolled in the end.
“We were way on top, which is a positive thing. We had struggled and scrapped and stayed in the game at 18-18. Whoever scored next was gonna win the game. I was really impressed with our resolve, the way we went about it but we just lost our way.”
Dragons skipper Ben Hunt probably needs to be reminded that the post-match media conferences are live-streamed.
When asked about an errant pass just before half-time which allowed Reynolds to boot what turned out to be a crucial two-point field goal, he said: “I was thinking just hit Matty Feagai there running down the sideline and it was just a f—in’ shit, terrible pass. Sorry. That obviously gave them a boost going into half-time.”
The usually pristine turf of Suncorp Stadium was as uneven as an Indian Test cricket pitch.
Divots were being churned up throughout the game and the pitch looked like the 18th fairway after the midweek hackers stableford.
Players were slipping left, right and centre due to a combination of recent wet weather and Ed Sheeran concerts.
Thankfully no one was injured but hopefully the field is in better condition for nexts week’s Dolphins vs Broncos blockbuster.