Panthers v Broncos preview
4 hours ago | Rhys Sullivan
The Brisbane Broncos have made it three wins on the trot and found their defensive resolve which could take them deep into the finals again in 2016, after they defeated the 4th placed Bulldogs 20-10 in a fiery encounter at Suncorp Stadium tonight.
The match threatened to spill over on a number of occasions, as error prone Bulldogs made an astounding 16 errors for the match, the majority in an awful second half from a side that has built a reputation for a high completion rates in previous seasons under the astute coaching of Des Hasler.
Canterbury may have further worries out of the match, with giant prop Sam Kasiano sure to come under the microscope of the match review committee for an unsavory incident in the final five minutes. Kasiano lashed out with a boot trying to free himself from a tackle, which caught Broncos captain Corey Parker in the mouth. Parker stayed down for some time after the incident and refused to accept Kasiano's apology, which then set tempers boiling when Parker smashed Curtis Rona off the next set.
The Broncos defence was superb throughout the match and they finally put their hand up as contenders for the premiership in 2016, after a horrific mid season slump. The Bulldogs on the other hand were again inconsistent, but it was their dreadful handling which cost them any hope of winning the match.
In semi final like conditions, both sides played relatively mistake free football early on which consisted of hard running and strong defence in an early taste of things to come in September.
It wasn't until Brisbane got some field position in the 12th minute, when a Corey Parker offload set of a sequence of 10 passes from one side of the field to the other, which found rookie centre Tom Opacic who raced over in the left hand corner for a sensational opening Broncos try. Jordan Kahu was then handed the kicking duties but couldn't convert from the sideline and the score remained 4-0.
The two teams then continued playing very tight and it wasn't until Broncos firebrand Josh McGuire was penalised for using his head in a tackle on Bulldogs winger Brett Morris which got Canterbury out of their own half. A quick play the ball from Sam Kasiano was then attacked by Josh Reynolds who scooted out of dummy half, Moses Mbye then grubbered towards the in-goal for centre Josh Morris who looked certain to score but for a wicked bounce back into the direction of twin brother Brett, who scored the visitors first try of the night, locking up the scores at 4 all.
Just as the sides looked set to end the first half on equal scores, the Broncos attacked the line and Sam Thaiday's offload was intercepted by Bulldogs interchange forward Tim Browne who was then penalised for being offside.
This presented the Broncos with a gift two points, which they uncharacteristically turned down and took a 10m tap with 90 seconds on the clock. The gamble paid off when half Ben Hunt's kick ricocheted off Moses Mbye on his own tryline and back to Hunt who scored a crucial try just before the break. Kahu converted to make the score 10-4 as the siren sounded.
The second half continued where the first half left off with some strong defence from both sides. However back to back handling errors from the Bulldogs gave the Broncos a chance and winger Jordan Kahu looked all set to score but for a terrific cover tackle from Bulldogs centre Josh Morris which saved a certain try.
The Broncos didn't have to wait long though to get back on the scoreboard, when the pressure on the Bulldogs defensive line finally broke with Sam Thaiday crashing over off a superb short ball from Andrew McCullough to extend the lead by 12 points.
The Bulldogs then had a chance to get back in the game when interchange forward Tevita Pangai Jr spilt the ball close to the line but again the Bulldogs hands let them down at crucial times. The Broncos made them pay, when Dogs interchange forward Tim Browne gave away a penalty in front of the posts and Jordan Kahu added the extra points to extend the lead to 18-4 with 19 minutes remaining.
Canterbury needed a big play and it was their big man Sam Kasiano who crashed over next to the posts to give the visitors some hope, but an error count in the double figures simply cancelled out any hope of a comeback.
The Broncos now move within one win of the Top 4 and now travel to Melbourne to face the Storm at AAMI Park next Friday night in another blockbuster for the glamour club. The boys in blue and white will have to dust themselves off and fix their handling errors as they face the defending premiers North Queensland at their spiritual home at Belmore Sports Ground next Thursday night.
-
Venue:
Crowd:
Halftime Score: