Despite being far from clinical, the Brisbane Broncos have sealed their spot in the NRL top 8 following their 28-10 victory over the Newcastle Knights at Suncorp Stadium.
The Knights dominated the early possession and field position but their attack wasn't proving to be a threat at all and it was the Broncos who opened the scoring after around 20-minute mark when Selwyn Cobbo scored his first of the night when the Knights defence was left in all sorts of trouble when they rushed up leaving space for Cobbo to score.
Both sides couldn't hold possession in the slippery conditions and although the Knights were still dominating the possession, the Broncos were next to score when Corey Oates went one-on-one with Dom Young and the Broncos gun was able to get his way over the line although question marks over a forward pass were left unanswered.
The Broncos turned on the flair almost immediately for their third try which came quickly off the back of the second when Ezra Mam was put through space after a lovely ball from Te Maire Martin who played a big role when he was backing up for Mam to find before Martin gave it back to Mam to score. Adam Reynolds converted and the Broncos took an 18-0 lead into the half-time break.
It was a pretty messy start to the second half with neither side able to assert any dominance before the Knights finally got on the board just shy of the hour mark when Daniel Saifiti went straight through the middle and over the top of the Brisbane defence to score. Anthony Milford's conversion closed the gap to 12.
There was a long wait for the Knights second try to be confirmed when Bradman Best was able to fight his way over the line but there were plenty of things to check for Kasey Badger in the bunker, as she had to clear an obstruction and whether Bradman Best got the ball to the ground. The try was eventually confirmed though the conversion attempt from Anthony Milford was a shocker.
The Broncos sealed the deal inside the final ten minutes when Selwyn Cobbo sealed his double and then hattrick with two late tries. Cobbo scored first as the Broncos attack fired when they looked to shift the ball right and then the third try came with a perfect kick from Adam Reynolds.
Next weekend, the Broncos have a Friday night battle against the Storm at home while the Knights are back at home when they host the Raiders next Sunday afternoon.