2023 NRL Magic Round: Broncos 32, Sea Eagles 6

May 5, 2023

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The Brisbane Broncos proved too strong for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, kicking off Magic Round in style with a 32-6 win.

Result

Brisbane Broncos 32
Tries: Selwyn Cobbo (10, 23, 70), Billy Walters (14), Jesse Arthurs (36), Herbie Farnworth (73)
Goals: Adam Reynolds (15, 25, 71, 75)

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 6
Tries: Ben Trbojevic (78)
Goals: Reuben Garrick (79)

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Report

The crowd was buzzing on night one of Magic Round, with the Broncos clash with Manly the sold out main event Brisbane was waiting for. The opening 10 minutes were riddled with errors, as both sides tried to shake off the nerves. Following an error from Manly deep in their own half, the Broncos drew first blood. Reece Walsh grubbered into the in-goal and Selwyn Cobbo regathered to score just inside the dead ball line.

After conceding first points, Manly continued their shaky start with multiple errors to keep the Broncos on the attack. Accepting the invitation, Billy Walters darted from dummy-half and scored the Broncos second try in five minutes. Manly fought to get the momentum back, but despite a period of attack they couldn’t execute to find points. In response, the Broncos heaped more punishment on Manly. A crisp exchange of passes between Adam Reynolds and Reece Walsh set up Selwyn Cobbo’s second try.

Five minutes before half time, a try to Jesse Arthurs gave the Broncos a comfortable 20-0 lead at the break.

Beginning the second half, Manly came out showing plenty of intent. They created several linebreaks and had the better of possession to keep the Broncos under pressure. Despite their opportunities, Manly couldn’t do enough to crack the Broncos defence. A period of back and forth play followed, as both sides began to struggle with fatigue. Payne Haas earned a spell after playing 60 minutes straight in what was a dominant display from the Broncos spearhead. Despite Haas being off, the Broncos finally got the first points of the second half.

With 10 to go, Selwyn Cobbo completed his hat-trick of tries when he intercepted a Tom Trbojevic pass and ran 70 metres to score. That opened the floodgates for the Broncos. In the following set, they broke Manly open again, and Herbie Farnworth finished it off by scoring from dummy-half. A late consolation try came for Manly when Ben Trbojevic dived over, but that made no difference to the result. The Broncos convincing in securing a 32-6 win.