The Brisbane Broncos have overturned a 12-point deficit to take an important 42-18 win over the North Queensland Cowboys to take the Carl Webb Cup.
The Broncos wanted to start fast and that's what they did when Corey Jensen scored his first try in over 2,600 days to open the scoring for the visitors after an ill-disciplined start from the Cowboys.
The lead only lasted five minutes for Brisbane as Tom Dearden got his way close to the line and in the eyes of Ashley Klein the ball got to the line despite replays not being totally conclusive as to where the ball got to. The conversion from Val Holmes levelled things at 6-6.
North Queensland were denied a four pointer by the bunker when Jeremiah Nanai knocked on after Reece Walsh spilt a bomb. It didn't matter for the Cowboys as Kyle Fedt scored in the corner just a matter of plays later.
The Cowboys showed luck was on their side as even the mishaps in the contest fell their way as Nanai missed his catch of the attacking kick with it sailing over the catchers from both sides and sat up perfectly for Viliami Vailea who scored. Val Holmes converted to give the hosts an 18-6 lead.
Nothing was going right for the Broncos but they did manage to strike the scoreboard inside the final few minutes of the first half when Deine Mariner scored under the posts. The conversion was good and the Broncos were somehow only trailing by six points.
The second half started with the Cowboys dominating territory and crossed the line twice but both times saw NO TRY go up on the big screen with the first being an effort that was initially ruled as no try for a knock-on against Griffin Neame in the air. Not long after, the Cowboys were awarded a Scott Drinkwater try but had it overturned by Matt Noyen in the bunker after replays showed the ball came free of the Cowboys fullback's grip.
Still not at their very best, the Broncos had their attacking raid right on the Cowboys line after they threw a forward pass from the scrum to turn possession back over.
Though it wasn't all doom and gloom for the Broncos, as Josh Rogers got his first NRL try when Reece Walsh tapped back a kick and Brendan Piakura kept the ball alive for Rogers to score. Reynolds converted to level the scores.
It was then the Broncos who went on a burst as they looked a lot like the danger team people expected as Kotoni Staggs scored the first of his two tries not long before Jordan Riki scored one of his own chasing a Reece Walsh kick.
The final five minutes, saw the Broncos ice the cake with Kotoni Staggs scoring his second after a play before Reece Walsh swooped on a loose ball before next play Staggs got over. Then inside the final few minutes Xavier Willison scored. Adam Reynolds kept his perfect kicking record going for the night and the Broncos sealed a 42-18 win.
Next week, The Cowboys are at home again as they host the Canberra Raiders whilst the Broncos get a well-earned bye.