Brisbane keep finals hopes alive with crucial win

Embed from Getty Images

Newcastle Knights v Brisbane Broncos

Both Brisbane and Newcastle practically needed a win to fight to keep their finals hopes alive and with Origin stars backing up for both teams and the return of Adam Reynolds for Brisbane, we were running headfirst into a matchup bound to have some fireworks.

The first 20 minutes ebbed and flowed, with golden attacking chances squandered as both sides pierced through the heart but never killed. Billy Walters looked busy in the middle for the Broncos, and eventually came up with a nice pass to his halfback who combined with Ezra Mam to put Deine Mariner over in the corner.

Walsh back proved the critics wrong by running the ball with purpose and allusion and was eventually able to take advantage of weak Newcastle scrum defence to score, with his dominant half continuing through a short ball to Deine Mariner close to the line, scoring his second try of the match.

Up 18-0 at halftime, Brisbane looked to put a big score on the hosts as Reece Walsh continued to play like he had a ball on a string, with yet another slick short pass to the barnstorming Brendan Piakura who crashed over. Only 51 minutes in, the Broncos led by 24 and showed no signs of slowing down.

It was a few handy penalties to the Knights which got them back in the contest, as momentum finally began to swing back their way after a few sets attacking the Broncos line slowly wore the visitors down, until it was Jack Hetherington's turn to charge onto a short ball and shrug off the defence to score.

They continued to apply pressure, set after set but Brisbane held strong. Eventually, the ever-present Deine Mariner found some space coming out of his own end and linked up with Ezra Mam who finished a length of the field try that looked so much like what we saw from the high flying 2023 Broncos. It was 30-4 and Brisbane were all over Newcastle.

With an apparent leg complaint to halfback Jackson Hastings, returning five-eighth, Tyson Gamble attempted to take control of the Knights attack, and it was through his boot that they were granted their second try - with Matthew Croker sprinting onto a chip kick that went deep into Brisbane's in goal, grounding the ball just before it crossed the dead ball line.

Although victory remained out of reach, the hosts were defiant and determined to put up a fight in front of their home crowd. An inspired Dylan Lucas run set up Greg Marzhew with plenty of space on the next play, which he took with glee, scoring in the corner.

Despite the Broncos dominance throughout the majority of the contest, Newcastle clawed their way back, only going down 30-14 with a much more respectable scoreline which leaves them with a fighting chance to still chase top eight footy.