Milford Magic melts Manly

v BYE

Anthony Milford was at his majestic best as the young five-eighth lead the Broncos to a comprehensive 30-6 win over the Manly Sea Eagles in the second match of tonight's double header at Suncorp Stadium in front of 52,347 fans - the biggest non-Origin crowd ever at the ground.

Milford was simply outstanding scoring 2 tries and setting up another for a rampaging Sam Thaiday in a commanding performance, which left NSW fans breathing a sigh of relief that he won't be available for Queensland selection in the upcoming Origin series.

Brisbane came into the match as heavy favourites and jumped out to a 12-0 lead at halftime after a five minute burst where they scored 2 tries in five minutes. Brisbane went up a gear in the second half and the ‘home' team, who took this match away from Brookvale Oval simply had no answer. 

Just as dangerous was Australian and likely Queensland fullback Darius Boyd who scored the first try of the night and threw a sublime cut out ball for Corey Oates to score in the final try of the match. Boyd was outstanding at the back for Brisbane, making it almost impossible not to hand him the #1 jersey which has been vacated by Melbourne's Billy Slater who will not feature in the series.

The Broncos got on the scoreboard in the 11th minute when an Anthony Milford kick ricocheted off Daly Cherry-Evans, which was picked up by fullback Darius Boyd who winded around two would be Manly defenders to score under the posts. Corey Parker added the extras to make it 6-0 after 11 minutes.

Brisbane made it two tries in 5 minutes when five eighth Anthony Milford broke the line, threw a dummy and burned away from Manly fullback Tom Trbojevic to score under the posts. Jordan Kahu converted for the Broncos to lead 12-0 in a five minute burst that left Manly stunned. 

The Eagles then had some success on the edges with Lewis Brown making a break, however his pass to winger Matthew Wright was ruled forward. In the next set Jamie Lyon found some space and tried to position his winger Brayden Williame in the corner to score, his pass to Wright however was off target and went into touch.

Brisbane continued to dominate possession and looked dangerous in almost every set, however their execution was slightly off on several occasions. In the 32nd minute there was controversy when Daly Cherry-Evans threw a superb cut out ball for Matthew Wright who touched down in the corner. However on-field referee Jared Maxwell ruled that the pass was forward. Replays suggested he got it wrong and the pass was fine, destroying Manly's chances of a timely reply before halftime. 

While to Broncos dominated 56% of possession in the first half, they surprisingly went for the extra two points when they were presented with a penalty right in front of the posts in the 43rd minute . Jordan Kahu added the extra two points to extend the lead to 14-0. 

Five minutes later it was Milford who sliced through the Manly defensive line with ease and dummied past late inclusion Tom Trbrojevic to bag his second try of the night. Kahu added the extras to make it 20-0. 

Manly had been persistent with their tactic of grubbering behind the line in order to build some pressure and it finally paid off when a Dylan Walker kick found Martin Taupau who despite being one of the strongest men in the NRL was very nearly held up in a superb tackle from winger Jordan Kahu. The Video Ref was satisfied with the put down and Manly were finally on the scoreboard.

Brisbane however quickly regained the ascendency yet again when that man Milford found Sam Thaiday in some space and the big man showed remarkable speed and agility to burn past some lackluster Manly defence to carry two would be defenders and crash over for a well deserved try. Kahu again made no mistake with the conversion and from there Brisbane never looked back.

Fullback Darius Boyd then added the exclamation mark on their dominant performance with a superb cut out pass which saw winger Corey Oates crash over in the corner for a dominant Broncos victory.

Manly were simply outclassed by the Broncos and had no answers to what Brisbane threw at them. Things don't get any easier for the Sea Eagles who now face the in-form Sharks at Shark Park next Saturday night.

The Broncos now set up potentially another nomination for the game of the year next Friday night, where they face fierce Queensland rivals North Queensland for the second time in 2016, in what promises to be yet another classic chapter in their riveting rivalry.