Broncos finish strong to claim top spot

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Canberra Raiders v Brisbane Broncos

Brisbane and Canberra put on a brilliant hour of football before the Broncos eventually got the upper hand and ran away with the victory in a very physical contest in Canberra.

The Broncos got the scoring started after just 5 minutes when Reece Walsh fired a cut-out pass across to Selwyn Cobbo, who scored out wide. Kotoni Staggs failed to convert from out wide.

Almost 10 minutes of persistent pressure by the Raiders eventually saw them respond in the 18th minute when Elliot Whitehead got a great offload away to Matt Frawley and the Raiders half scored. Jamal Fogarty converted the try.

The Broncos reclaimed the lead in the 28th minute when Staggs got a superb inside run to score on the right edge for the Broncos, before converting his own try.

The Broncos play became sloppy, inviting the Raiders back into the game and in the 32nd minute, they took full advantage when Nick Cotric took advantage of some weak Broncos defence to score on the left side. Fogarty failed to convert.

Brisbane immediately hit back when Ezra Mam crossed 4 minutes before the break. His try was converted by Staggs to give the Broncos a 6 point lead.

Canberra locked the scores up just before the break when Hudson Young broke through the Broncos defence to score on the left edge. Fogarty converted and at halftime, the scores were locked at 16 all.

4 minutes into the second half, Fogarty landed a penalty goal to give the Raiders the lead.

The Raiders defence proved impenetrable for the next 20 minutes, but eventually the Broncos created an overlap which allowed Selwyn Cobbo to score out wide, leaping over Jordan Rapana, whose cover tackle attempt was deemed to be an attempted trip and he was sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes. Staggs failed to convert from out wide.

Reece Walsh made a brilliant kick return 6 minutes later, evading defenders and running almost 40 metres to get into the Raiders half. On the next tackle, the Broncos shifted the ball quickly out to Cobbo who used his blistering speed to outpace the defence to score in the corner. Staggs was again unable to convert. 

Walsh then calmly potted a field goal in the 73rd minute to give the Broncos an important 7 point lead. Three minutes later, the Broncos went right again, but this time it was Walsh who outpaced the defence to score. Staggs failed to convert again, but the victory was now secured by the Broncos.