Broncos Young Guns Into Grand Final
Greg Davis
SEVEN days after Melbourne destroyed Brisbane's NRL premiership hopes in the dying seconds, the ``Baby Broncos'' qualified for the under-20 grand final with a miraculous last-minute try in Sydney last night.
Brisbane will play Canberra in the under-20 decider at Telstra Stadium next Sunday after snatching a remarkable 28-26 victory over New Zealand at the Sydney Football Stadium.
The Broncos trailed 26-24 with less than 60 seconds remaining after the young Warriors had dominated much of the contest with their bigger, older forwards steamrolling through the middle of the ruck.
A desperate grubber kick allowed interchange forward Michael Spence to break through the New Zealand defensive line and he found a flying Tom Butterfield in support to score the match-winner.
The Anthony Griffen-coached Broncos looked out of the contest after Warriors halfback Isaac John scored in the dying minutes to establish a 26-18 buffer.
But the second of Jharal Yow Yeh's two tries gave Brisbane an unlikely shot at glory.
Brisbane led 12-0 after 15 minutes through tries to winger Mitch Rivett and Yow Yeh.
However, New Zealand seized the momentum in the back half of the entertaining opening period to reduce the Broncos' buffer to two points with centre pairing Patrick Ah Van and Rusty Bristow capitalising on the bullocking runs of prop Russell Packer.
Tries to interchange forward Steve Rapira and fullback Kevin Locke put the Warriors in command.
But life was breathed back into Brisbane through a try to centre Brendon Gibb from a Ben Hunt kick.
The Broncos will start the inaugural under-20 season showpiece as underdogs as Canberra has won both times the teams have met this year.
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