With Brisbane leading 24-0 at halftime on the back of perhaps the best 40 minutes of the season, it looked as this was going to be a cricket score at Suncorp Stadium. Instead, it was as if the teams swapped jumpers during the break.
The Dragons stung Brisbane with three quick tries to look as if they might roll over the top of the tiring Broncos. At 24-16 and with all the running, you'd almost have backed the visitors but Brisbane found a second wind and scored through Matt Gillett to seal the two points. St George Illawarra had punched themselves out.
Gillett was pure class for the Broncos. He was influential in attack and defence and was the best player on the park. He even bounced back from being flattened by Michael Weyman in the first half, making it a compelling State of Origin audition for the talented backrower. That form is just too good to ignore.
FULLTIME Brisbane 28 St George Illawarra 20
78th min The Dragons still trying but youd think its curtains for them tonight, barring an eight-point try.
76th min And he's hit the post for the second time tonight! Not much luck for the Blues pivot. Broncos lead 28-20 and should hold on with that good fortune. Hard luck for the Dragons there.
75th min TRY Dragons. Matt Prior scores in the corner. Concerted pressure too much for Brisbane and this is a huge kick for Jamie Soward. It's now 28-20 and if he kicks this, they come within a converted try of golden point. If he misses, Brisbane are good enough to wind down the clock.
73rd min Some skills there from Hornby. Who knew he could do that? Caught the pass and dropped it onto his boot in one motion. Delivered it to his winger in the Broncos goal and Brisbane forced to clear it across the sideline. That was more Benji than Ben. They trail 28-16 and will need a bonafide miracle from here.
70th min Sorry folks technical issue and just as I emerge from the haze, I can report there is a TRY to Brisbane! They put on a burst of energy to get up the other end of the field and the Dragons may have punched themselves out. It's Gillett who chases the Beale grubber and he scores in the corner. It's now 28-16 with 10 minutes to go. That might have broken the hearts of the Red V.
62nd min Even when they do something good it turns out badly for Brisbane at the moment. Glenn cleaned up a loose ball after a great scramble in defence but there was a little knock-on. And the Dragons score off the scrum! Incredible! TRY. Gone upstairs but not sure why... Soward kicked off the scrum and Brett Morris chases through to score. Missed it with his hands buit planted it with the chest. Audacious stuff from the Dragons and they are back.... it's 24-16. Wow.
59th min Soward's bomb is filled with peril but Jack Reed is on the spot to clean up for Dale Copley, who couldn't handle it on the full. Jolted loose from his arms but Reed swoops past to save the day. All Dragons at the moment and the turnaround is difficult to believe. They were gone for all money. Let's see how much they can derive from this run of positive play. Brisbane lead 24-10 and face another test of character.
55th min Much better so far for the Dragons. Quick ruck play, second phase balls, and that's a TRY! Sooooo easy in the end. Kyle Stanley gallops off the hip of Hornby and Corey Norman was all at sea. Runs 30m untouched to score a try to finish a fantastic set. Game on folks. It's 24-10.
52nd min TRY to Nightingale for the Dragons. He delivers when it matters with a stylish diving finish in the corner and it's 24-4. Crowd is 38,012 tonight and they are letting Soward know a thing or two as he hits the post from the sideline. He can't advance the score but at least they have scored.
51st min Dumb play from Ben Te'o. Soward was on the run and he thumped him with a no-look shoulder charge well after he'd kicked the ball. Dragons 10m out now and simply must find a way over the line. They trail 24-0.
48th min The one guy who hasn't been great for Brisbane tonight is their captain Thaiday. Drops another one as he runs to the line. Just a few communication issues with the halves so far. They still lead 24-0 and for the Dragons, milk - and turning up - was a bad choice.
46th min Soward penalised for flopping on Ben Hunt, who had was on the ground after fielding the ball. Cops the penalty and that's a little rough. He probably deserved to be penalised for that awful grubber though. It went about 38cm.
42nd min Thanks for joining us for the second half here at Suncorp Stadium, where Brisbane are doing it in a canter against the Dragons. St George Illawarra are going to have to turn things around dramatically to get in the game here. I'd think they'll try and kick early and attempt to play some football down Brisbane's end, which didn't happen in the first half. They're big blokes like Creagh and Prior and Weyman really struggling to keep pace with Brisbane's quick young pack tonight. Big headache for coach Price.
HALFTIME This has been a good old-fashioned belting up here. Brisbane lead 24-0 and I could take you through some tactical intricacies but it's easier to say Brisbane are just purring at home and the Dragons have not turned up in any way, shape or form. Tries for Brisbane go to Norman, Wallace, McCullough and Glenn. Brisbane have made five line breaks to the Dragons' zero. Join me for the second half. The arsonist has oddly shaped feet.
38th min Knights of Columbus, that hurt.
35th min TRY Brisbane. Alex Glenn catches them short on the left and Hornby has no choice but to take the dummy. The Kiwi goes over and Brisbane lead 22-0. They have been superb so far. And Glenn has been brilliant since his move to a regular spot in the backrow last season. Classic unsung hero of the Broncos. Dragons fans, I'd love to wax lyrical about your side but they are stinking things up tonight sadly. Wallace makes it four-from-four and the Broncos lead 24-0.
34th min The human torch was denied a bank loan. And Brisbane are denied a try by what appeared to be a glimpse of stubborn Dragons defence down the left side of the field. Not surprisinly, Brisbane unable to keep up that insane pace and have settled into more of a measured tempo at the moment. Good enough for an 18-0 lead.
31st min Sweet Lincoln's mullet, that's another let off for the Dragons. Barely managed to tidy up in front of goal adn Thaiday was awfully close to just pouncing on that. They make the mistake soon after though and Brisbane feed another attacking scrum. They lead it 18-0.
27th min That's a waste from Brisbane. They had Hodges and Gillett right in Soward's channel one in from the wing on the tryline but they couldn't swing it wide. Ended with a poor grubber going dead and the Dragons finally get some football. Not looking particularly likely though, as you'd expect from a side down 18-0. Get a break here though as the Broncos drop a bomb. Has Prior scored? No! Try saver from Gillett! He does know where he is!
25th min It's all coming up Brisbane here. McCullough chimes in with a 40-20 and Brisbane get the scrum feed on the Dragons 10m line. They've played almost the perfect game of football so far and the match-ups for the Dragons just aren't working at all. More trouble brewing.
22nd min TRY Brisbane. Andrew McCullough has been dangerous and simply throws the dummy and scores from dummy half. That's plain awful defence. I won't lie - that smells like pure gasoline. The Dragons are getting done over bady here. They trail 18-0.
21st min Great Odin's raven! Brett Morris passes it to the sideline. Matt Prior was sort of in the vicinity. But not really. Be prepared for Anchorman quotes throughout the coverage. Broncos lead 12-0.
17th min TRY Brisbane. Peter Wallace goes over and he is playing the house down tonight. Everywhere in defence and busy with the ball in every set. That was built on a big charge from Petero Civoniceva, who found a quick play the ball and from there the Dragons were on toast. Quick ball to Thaiday, then to Wallace who beats Soward to get over. Anthony Griffin said Hornby-Soward was a big test for Wallace-Norman but they've been Brisbane's best thus far. Wallace converts. It's 12-0.
14th min Booooooom! How about that! Gillett steams up out of the line to put a massive shoulder charge on Weyman and gets absolutely steamrolled by the big Dragon. Just stood his ground and catapulted Gillett into the atmosphere. Gillett just sat on the ground stunned for a minute and is now back in the Broncos line trying to remember his rank and serial number. If you're reading this, you most likely didn't see that. Don't miss that one on the highlights. Who wants to ban shoulder charges again? Fools. Fools I say! It's 6-0 to Brisbane.
10th min Brisbane offside on the kick-chase and the Dragons needed that penalty. Some good field position for them but they cough it up again. Lovely cover from Wallace and Matt Gillett - he's a very good young player for the Broncos and will no doubt be very close to an Origin jumper for Queensland this season. Broncos 6 Dragons 0.
8th min Peter Wallace is kicking tonight with Corey Parker still injured. He's a very solid Plan B and knocks it over to give Brisbane a 6-0 lead. What Brisbane lack in size they make up for in pace all over the park. Very quick and active backrow and dummy-half in McCullough and that's already giving the Dragons some trouble so far. Broncos are in front 6-0.
7th min This is going to be a try to Brisbane. It's gone upstairs but this is going to be a TRY to Corey Norman. Lovely show-and-go and just too much pace as he got on the outside of the defence and sprinted seven or eight metres to score. Was held up initially but rolled over and the Broncos lead this one 4-0.
6th min Mistake here from the Dragons. Matt Prior drops it in the tackle and the Broncos set a 'scrum' on the 35m line. Decent chance here to build some pressure. Everything points to a ripper of a game so far.
3rd min Could be a good night. Ben Hannant is doing basketball passes in the backline like he's feeding the ball into Dwight Howard in the low post. And Justin Hodges is already chipping for himself. It's still 0-0.
1st min The match is under way and the Dragons belt it out from the brewery end of the ground. First set is complete and the Broncos start to track their way back towards the Dragons line. Solid start from both clubs. And we've just worked out that Petero Civoniceva is older than the Dragons coach - thanks to Steve Mascord for that gem.
7.34pm Brisbane has its old stars out in force tonight as they celebrate 20 years since the breakthrough 1992 premiership. They'll give Brisbane a guard of honour as the players make their way out onto the field. Heritage jerseys tonight - the Dragons are in the red-and-white bandages and looking pretty darn good. Brisbane a bit of a mixed bag but at least it's not the dreaded harlequin jumper, the resale of which I believe has now been banned in most first world nations.
7.24pm Who says the NRL doesn't get pre-match entertainment. This woman is easily the best Tina Turner impersonator I've seen perform before a Broncos-Dragons game in Brisbane. Taking us through Simply the Best, which means I have to do this.... I love the part when she surprises Gavin Miller at dinner. That was a regular occurence in 1990.
7.19pm And you want to split-screen, join Ben Coady as he takes you through the match between the Storm - who have postponed the next episode of "Cooper Reveals" for four years - and the Newcastle Knights.
7.15pm Good evening league fans. It's a picture perfect night in the Queensland capital and I'm expecting a very good game between two sides with plenty of history and some handy form.
Brisbane are as per program with just one change for the Dragons as Dean Young shifts to the bench and Jeremy Latimore starts at lock. The Dragons will be wearing black armbands tonight in honour of Matt Prior's brother Jake, who suddenly passed away last week. Our collective thoughts to Matt and his family, I'm sure.
Comments
Be the first to comment.
New user? Sign up
Make a comment
You are logged in as [Logout]
All information entered below may be published.
Thank you
Your comment has been submitted for approval.
Comments are moderated and are generally published if they are on-topic and not abusive.