By WILFRED ZEE
A DISLOCATED shoulder injury to Anthony Milford may be the expensive price of a tough, hard-fought win to the Brisbane over the South Sydney. The Broncos were expected to dominate the lowly Rabbitohs at Suncorp Stadium, but were forced to work hard until the final moments to get the job done.
Plenty of questions were being asked of the Rabbitohs pre-game, with their season almost on life support. The Rabbitohs turned up to play and were quickly on the front foot after Kodi Nikorima dropped the kick-off in scenes nearly identical to another famous dropped kick-off by a Broncos halfback. However, despite having to defend two sets in a row the Rabbitohs were unable to trouble the scorers.
The game was fast-paced and played at a high quality for the full 80 minutes, the Rabbitohs defying their 14th position on their ladder by taking the fight to the fifth-placed Broncos.
Despite the bright start from the Rabbitohs, the Broncos opened the scoring in the 13th minute after a slick backline movement culminated in a Corey Oates try off a Darius Boyd cutout pass. Jordan Kahu made no mistake with the difficult conversion from just inside the sideline to see the Broncos lead 6-0.
Just a five minutes later, off the back of an early penalty, the Broncos marched downfield and Nikorima took advantage of a nifty Sims offload to put Matt Gillett over with a nice short ball. Kahu again made no mistake with the conversion to put the Broncos up 12-0.
The Rabbitohs were gifted an easy passage down the field off the back of consecutive penalties which culminated in a Bryson Goodwin try off a pinpoint Adam Reynolds kick. Reynolds added the two points to bring it back to a six-point ball game at the 25-minute mark, 12-6.
The game settled down into an end-to-end grind afterwards, with both teams having half-breaks due to the up-tempo pace that the game was being played at. A frenetic finish to the half saw desperate defence from the Rabbitohs stopping a rampaging Tautau Moga just centimetres from the try line, leaving the score 12-6 to the Broncos at the half.(continued below)
The Rabbitohs started the second half on fire, with some inspired defence initially and then some hard running with ball in hand. This culminated in a 44th minute try to Sam Burgess off a perfectly-timed short ball from Sutton. Reynolds put the ball between the uprights to lock up the game at 12-all.
The Broncos thought they had gotten over courtesy of a Moga try in the 53rd minute, however a referral to the Bunker saw the on-field decision of try somewhat controversially overturned. Some might say this would a fair outcome considering the ending to the last meeting of these two teams.
The Broncos were unfazed however and went straight back to work, with some dominant running from the forwards seeing them right in the. A 58th minute try to Kahu was delivered on a platter from an incredible Anthony Milford grubber kick on the run and in traffic. Kahu missed the conversion to leave the Broncos four points ahead with 16-12.
The Rabbitohs seemed to have the wind taken out of their sails, and the Broncos took advantage of the drop in intensity with Sam Thaiday crashing over in the 62nd minute off a perfectly-timed Adam Blair pass. Kahu made no mistake with the conversion this time to take the Broncos to a lead of 22-12.
An attempted short kick-off fell just short of the 10-metre line, with the Broncos peppering the Rabbitohs try line to no avail. Errors kept the Rabbitohs camped down their own end for the next 10 minutes, with scrambling defence just repelling the repeated Broncos’ attack. A 70th minute penalty to the Rabbitohs allowed them to escape their own end and set up camp in the Broncos’ half.
Some frantic attack resulted in yet another pinpoint Reynolds bomb which was caught on the full by a flying Angus Crichton. The conversion was quickly taken by Reynolds who brought the score back to 22-18.
The Broncos quickly marched downfield off the back of some charging runs, and were able to force a dropout. Reynolds made the critical mistake of failing to kicking the dropout the 10 metres, gifting the Broncos an easy two points through the resulting penalty. Kahu sent the ball over the black dot and took the Broncos to a converted try, 24-18.
Reynolds tried yet another short kick-off, but to ensure he didn’t go short again he sent it too far and the ball was easily taken by the Broncos. Some last minute heroics beckoned but the Rabbitohs were unable to crack the Broncos’ defence one last time, leaving the final score at 24-18.
The Broncos go into their first bye for the year in the top four again with the win, although the Roosters could leapfrog them if they beat the Tigers later this weekend. The Rabbitohs remain anchored to 14th position, ahead of only the Knights and the Tigers.
