Haas of Payne: Broncos young pack stun Roosters

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Brisbane Broncos v Sydney Roosters

Brisbane have sunk the defending premiers seven match streak to run out winners 15-10 over the Roosters in front of 28,228 fans at Suncorp Stadium tonight.

In one of the matches of the season, the Broncos much hyped young forward pack delivered on the on the big stage, with NSW Blues bolter Payne Haas and firebrand prop Matt Lodge leading the way, with both bookends running over 200m each in a huge victory for Anthony Seibold and his young squad.

Haas was enormous for the home side, again playing huge minutes and scoring a blockbusting try for the Broncos opener, as the young rookie continued his strong push for selection in the Blues upcoming squad for Game I.

New Broncos recruit James Segeyaro capped a stunning debut off the interchange, when the former Sharks hooker threw a dummy close to the line with the game in the balance, to crash over and score the match winner.

The Roosters lost just their first match since Round 1. However given the short five day turnaround and missing a few key players from their Top 17, coach Trent Robinson will be delighted with the intensity they played with for 80 minutes despite the five point loss.

The drama started early between two of the NRL powerhouses, when the home side had the Roosters under pressure early. Broncos half Anthony Milford put in a deft grubber on the last which was too deep. Replays however showed Roosters number seven, Cooper Cronk shoulder Darius Boyd off the ball and Cronk was given 10 minutes in the Sin Bin. In extraordinary scenes the Queensland legend was booed off the pitch at Suncorp by the home fans.

The Roosters have been known for their red hot starts to matches in 2019, and being down to 12 men did not stop that from continuing, when James Tedesco crashed over close to the line. Latrell Mitchell converted and it was 6-0.

The game was being played at high intensity, with both packs putting in some extremely physical hits and desperate defending. Young gun and NSW Origin bolter Payne Haas then again put his name in Brad Fittler's black book, when the 18 year old behemoth steamrolled a number of Roosters defenders close to the line to pick a superb time to score his first NRL try and tie the scores at 6 all.

The Broncos young pack kept the intensity going, with the Roosters giving away back to back penalties as they were put on the back foot. Jamayne Isaako took the gift two points on offer and the home side led 8-6 to the delight of the home crowd.

The arm wrestle between the two packs then swung back to the Tricolours, where the Broncos gave away back to back penalties themselves and Mitchell tied the scores at 8 all before halftime.

The ferocity and intensity continued after the break, with both sides' forward pack not missing each other in defence. With the game swinging back and forth, it was Broncos five-eighth Anthony Milford who broke the 8 all deadlock, when seemingly lost for answers on the fifth tackle, Milford snapped a surprise field goal with 16 minutes left on the clock.

New signing Segeyaro then burrowed over for what turned out to be the match winner, which has immediately made him a fan favourite in the Queensland capital. It was a terrific moment for the journeyman number 9, who was unable to play for the Sharks top 17 at the start of the season, after Cronulla marquee signing Shaun Johnson pushed him out of the Top 30 contracted players.

Brisbane have now won two games in a row after a slow start to 2019 and now travel across the Tasman where they will face former half Kodi Nikorima and his new side the Warriors at Mt Smart Stadium next Saturday night.

The Roosters will be disappointed with the loss, but will have to move on quickly as they head up the M1 from Sydney to face the Knights at McDonald Jones Stadium next Friday night.