Brisbane Broncos 36 (Cobbo 2, Walters, Riki, Oates tries; Staggs 6/7 goals) def. Newcastle Knights 12
7-4
I usually like to hold off until I watch a replay but considering I still have to give my thoughts on the Round 10 game I thought I'd get in early.
It was shaping to be a long night for the Broncos. On top of losing Reynolds on game day, their fill-in captain Capewell came off after 10 minutes after copping a stray elbow to the face. With Brisbane conceding some soft penalties it seemed like Newcastle would run over the top of them. However the Broncos produced some strong efforts on their line and saved a number of tries when it appeared the Knights were about to score for all money.
Without Reynolds, the Broncos played a far more conservative brand of footy. They largely just played it through the middle and opted to kick to corners to help get in the arm wrestle. When opportunities eventually came they were guilty of coming up with inopportune errors or unnecessary early tackle kicks that failed to test the Newcastle defence.
Their opening try came off a nice face pass from Gamble to Capewell which put him one on one with Milford. I thought Milford may line up on the left, but he stayed on the right which is where he's played in recent times. From dummy half debutant Ezra Mam scooted and knowing that he held the advantage, threw a fantastic speculator and Billy did well not only to support but take control of the football before grounding it.
I thought the game turned for Brisbane when Selwyn Cobbo and Corey Oates started finding space and lifting the tempo of the ruck for the Broncos. Meanwhile when they started targeting Dominic Young under the high ball, Newcastle lost his runs that were so pivotal in the first half and the Broncos began to take more control of the game.
It eventually led to points with Tyson Gamble combining with Jordan Riki for a simple try. Gamble rides a line when he combines with his second row but it's become a potent option for the Bronco and it was something I wanted to see from the Broncos in the pre-game.
If there was one disappointment for the Broncos it was that when they took a 14-6 lead, they came up with a number of errors instead of pressing their advantage. Even when they made it 12-6, Palasia made an error off the kick off and right as they should have put the game to bed they conceded a try to Kalyn Ponga who accepted a great inside pass off a really promising young forward in Croker.
I thought the Broncos were very fortunate with the Cobbo try. Granted there's some technicalities to the obstruction rule that's open to interpretation but to the naked eye it appeared Martin ran behind Riki who had over-run the pass before giving it to Kotoni who made the break. I'll be curious to hear the fall-out from Annesley but as a long-time fan I thought Newcastle would line up for goal and make it a 14-all game.
It's a huge discussion point of the game and I'm sure we'll hear more over the course of the weekend.
There was another controversial decision right on half-time involving Dane Gagai. Gagai had been awarded a try on half-time only for replays to show he had lost control of possession and failed to regather while attempting to ground the ball. While I thought it was a stroke of luck for the Broncos since Newcastle had done all the hard-work it was clearly a knock on as per the rules.
Brisbane fans may recall before the 2020 competition was suspended that Annesley made a big song and dance about how Kotoni Staggs was incorrectly awarded a try in their 20-18 win against Souths because there was one frame that showed when Staggs was in the process of grounding the ball there was a brief seperation as he opened his hand to ground it. Staggs had more control of the ball that night than Gagai did, so the decision didn't come off as a shock.
From that point, Brisbane were able to ramp home their advantage and scored a further three tries to cap off a strong win.
Cobbo was a deserved man of the match but there were plenty of strong performances on the night. Kotoni Staggs continues to impress with his defensive efforts, he had a great battle with Bradman Best who unfortunately dislocated his elbow mid-way through the second half. The forwards also laid a strong platform with Haas, Carrigan & Flegler leading the way.
The much anticipated debut of Ezra Mam also showed some promise. Despite a nervous first half, Ezra held his own defensively and improved as the game wore on ending the night with 3 try assists and some very promising runs. Watching him, I could understand why Kevie didn't turn to him when the Broncos were desperate for a result but you can also see why they locked him up for 3 years.
