Broncos vs Cowboys
A massive crowd of over 43,000 turned out to watch the Broncos take on rivals the North Queensland Cowboys at Suncorp Stadium. And they weren't disappointed, with a cracking game played out in pleasant Friday evening conditions. Before five minutes had gone the Cowboys were over courtesy of Dallas Johnson going over under the posts, before the home side crossed in the corner through Jharal Yow Yeh with Corey Parker booting the conversion and adding a penalty goal minutes later. The Cowboys hit back through two pieces of Bowen magic, first stripping the ball metres out from the line from the Broncos to set up James Segeyaro, then putting a perfect kick wide for Brent Tate to amble over in the corner untouched, meaning the score at half time was 16-8. The Broncos hit back after halftime with Josh McGuire pouncing on Matt Bowen's knock on and then Gerard Beale crossing in the corner. Both tries were converted and the Broncos were ahead, however the Cowboys regained their lead with Bowen taking advantage of some Thurston magic to cross and put them 22-20 ahead after the latter converted the try. Ben Teo'o scored in the 68th minute to set up a tight finish, and with one minute to go Matt Bowen crossed in the corner to settle the result. By Josiah Binet |
North Queensland Cowboys 28
Tries: Matt Bowen 2, Dallas Johnson, Brent Tate, James Segeyaro Goals: Jonathan Thurston 4/6 Brisbane Broncos Tries: Gerard Beale, Jharal Yow Yeh, Ben Teo'o, Josh McGuire Goals: Corey Parker 5/5 |
The Storm started their season well with a hard-fought win against the Raiders in Canberra, 24-19.
In terrible conditions in the nation’s capital, the Storm struck first through one of the game’s best players, Billy Slater. After just two minutes, he stepped his way through the Raiders defence from ten metres out, before racing over the line. Storm captain Cameron Smith converted to put the visitors 6-0 up. Just four minutes later they were in again, this time after Cooper Cronk regained his own kick in the in-goal and grounded it. 12-0 to the Storm. In the 15th minute Raiders forward Shuan Fensom latched onto a David Shillington pass to go over underneath the posts. Terry Campese converted, and 15 minutes later was doing so again after Josh McCrone scored. The score at halftime was 14-12 to the Storm following a Smith penalty goal. It was much of the same in the second half, with see-sawing possession and lots of ball movement providing Justin O’Neill and Glenn Butriss with tries for the Storm and Raiders respectively. Josh Dugan hit an ugly field goal with seven minutes remaining that rolled off the crossbar and over, and that looked to be the ball game. But three minutes later the Storm had the last laugh, Slater leaping higher than the Raiders defence to catch a Cronk bomb and win the game for Melbourne. By Josiah Binet |
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Brisbane Broncos came from 6-0 down at halftime to beat the Eels at Parramatta Stadium after three unanswered tries to the away side handed them an 18-6 win.
With star playmaker Jarryd Hayne out through injury, it was always going to be a tough ask for the home side, and the assignment was even tougher considering they were playing the Broncos, who despite a lacklustre first half proved too good on the night. Eels debutant Chris Sandow struck first, scoring after his kick was fumbled by Broncos winger Gerard Beale on the try line. Luke Burt, handed the kicking duties ahead of Sandow, converted to put them up 6-0. The Brisbane outfit wasted a number of great attacking opportunities, and at halftime the score was 6-0 to the home side, despite being thought of by many as the underdog. The halves combination of Sandow and Ben Roberts, new signings from the Rabbitohs and the Bulldogs respectively, was pulling through. After the break it seemed like two entirely different sides were playing. The Broncos were putting the Eels under constant pressure, and it finally paid off in the 52nd minute, after good teamwork and quick hands spread the ball to the right, with centre Justin Hodges putting Jharal Yow Yeh over in the corner. Corey Parker converted to level the scores, and minutes later Brisbane were in front, this time through halfback Peter Wallace. His grubber kick from ten metres out hit a defender and he regained the ball to score next to the posts to set Parker up for an easy conversion, which he landed successfully. Broncos prop Ben Hannant charged down Sandow’s clearance in the 70th minute, and four tackles later scored a try after barging over from close range. The Broncos’ post- Darren Lockyer era looks set to be bright, with Corey Norman playing well in the Brisbane legend’s old position. His opposite number, Ben Roberts, had a night to forget after limping off early in the game. Final score Brisbane Broncos 18- Parramatta Eels 6. |
Brisbane Broncos Tries: Jharal Yow Yeh, Peter Wallace, Ben Hannant Goals: Corey Parker 3/3 Parramatta Eels Tries: Chris Sandow Goals: Luke Burt 1/1 By Josiah Binet |
St-George Illawarra Dragons continued their good form from the past two seasons with a win in their first round match against the Newcastle Knights.
New coach Steve Price would have been impressed with the performance by his side, while former coach Wayne Bennett, now at the Knights, would also have taken some positives out of the game at the Hunter Stadium. The Knights struck first in slippery conditions, with a Kurt Gidley penalty goal putting them 2-0 up. However just eight minutes in Dragons winger Brett Morris scored in the corner to register the first try of the NRL season. Five-eighth Jamie Soward brilliantly converted the try from the sideline, and the Dragons were in front 6-2. In the 29th minute the Dragons number six kicked a penalty goal to put them two more ahead, 8-2. Just after the half-hour mark Knights halfback Jarrod Mullen scored an excellent solo try and Gidley missed the conversion, leaving the away side up 8-6 at the break. Just after halftime Dragons player Nathan Fien bombed a certain try when he dropped the ball over the line following a fumble by Knights winger Akuila Uate. The Knights weren’t off the hook for long though, with Dragons centre Matt Cooper barging over the line and Soward converting to put them ahead 14-6. Dual international Timana Tahu illegally kneed Dragons forward Matt Prior in the head, sparking a brawl, but minutes later made up for it with the final pass to former NSW winger James McManus. Gidley slotted the extra points and hit a penalty goal soon after to level the scores at 14-all. In golden point, a number of opportunities were wasted, with both sides finding the slippery ball hard to handle. But with 25 seconds left in the first half of extra time, Soward slotted a field goal from 25 metres out to stun the Knights and their fans. Final score was Dragons 15- Knights 14. By Josiah Binet |
Newcastle Knights
Tries: Jarrod Mullen, James McManus Goals: Kurt Gidley 3/4 St George-Illawarra Dragons Tries: Brett Morris, Matt Cooper Goals: Jamie Soward 3/3 Field Goals: Jamie Soward 1/1 |