Just managed to catch a replay of the match after avoiding the result for 24 hours.
A solid performance built on the work of the front row rotation. Still plenty of elements of ill-discipline with the ball in hand evident again in this match, but this is really the only negative that can be drawn. North Queensland were overall the better side for the majority of the match, and deserved the victory. That's not to take anything away from Brisbane. They moved the ball well and their young players are stepping up in the absence of Lockyer. Peter Wallace is a good link man and his touches in a couple of their tries were classy.
All that said, when the side was not making errors, the NQ forwards laid a terrific platform for the rest. The charges from Scott, A Sims and particularly Tamou were relentless and far more effective than their Bronco counterparts. The domination of this side of the came came in contrast to Brisbane's willingness to move the ball around more. In the end, the North Queensland approach was more effective. Tamou is on the way to becoming a premier prop in the game. His swift progression and maturity level are evident. No longer are we seeing a young hothead out there, rather a young bull who isn't shirking the workload. I thought he was hard done by not getting Man of the Match.
Others to stand out for mine was Cooper, particularly in defense, but he still runs good lines for Thurston that ask questions of the defense. Payne and Segs made a terrific contribution with their combination this week, their service allowed the forwards to do their work effectively. Thompson was lively also, a couple of jinking runs caught the defense off guard, and his tackling was superb as usual. He's still criminally under-utilised, in all facets of attack and in sharing the kicking duties. Lastly, Tate was a rock, and he obviously recovered from the rib injury well, showing no ill-effects.
Thurston is still looking dusty, but had some nice touches. He's come out of the blocks slow so far this season but I'm not particularly concerned. Especially when Bowen is looking so dangerous. I'm sure opposition defenses fancy themselves at shutting down those two but they still have a few tricks in the bag. We can only hope Bowen continues to lurk like he did last night and that his pace is allowed to flourish. Bloody hell it's marvellous watching him at full flight.
The only problem I had with this game was the period from the Gash bomb try through to about the 55 minute mark. We were particularly poor during this period and if Brisbane hadn't been so ill-disciplined they would have blown us away. It's a brutal assessment. But it's these periods that will cost the club dearly against quality opposition. Truly speaking we were lucky to win the game. When the side is good, they can be quite dominant, as they were for most of the match. But when they are bad, they are absolutely insipid and so far behind the opposition. This period basically cost us a clear 18 points, with a bombed try and two for the Broncs. It was our night though last night, with a number of pieces of luck, so it didn't cost us in the end. But luck is not always going to be on our side.
Ashley Graham bombed a certain try. Would Kalifa have done the same? That's all I'll say about that.
It was good to again beat Brisbane at home, they sure have some unlikeable players. Much can be taken from the match. But so much work needs to be done about the attitude towards ball control.
