The Brisbane Broncos get the job done against the Sharks in Cronulla on Saturday night.
Result
Brisbane Broncos 20
Tries: (4) Kotoni Staggs 5th; Ezra Mam 34th; Jesse Arthurs 38th; Herbie Farnworth 67th
Goals: (2) Adam Reynolds 35th, 68th
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 12
Tries: (2) Siosifa Talakai 21st; William Kennedy 75th
Goals: (2) Nicholas Hynes 23rd, 75th
Report
A mild winter’s evening in The Shire saw the clash between the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and the Brisbane Broncos on Saturday night set up to be a beauty. With halfback and chief playmaker Nicho Hynes backing up from a disappointing State of Origin debut, and and Reece Walsh coming off the high of his own entry into the Origin arena, this top four clash promised to be a hard-fought battle.
Despite the Sharks’ best efforts to turn it around, the first half was pretty much all Broncos on the scoreboard and the stats sheet, with the Broncos benefitting from a weight of possession in the beginning and end of the first 40.
It took only five minutes for Kotoni Staggs to make a dash from dummy-half and grab the first points of the evening, following a length of the field sprint from Jordan Riki, giving the visitors a very early lead. Fifteen minutes later and the Sharks managed to hit back through a rampaging Siosifa Talakai and lead 6-4 until just before half-time. The final few minutes of the opening stint proved costly for Cronulla as they allowed the Broncos to score not one, but two four-pointers through Ezra Mam and Jesse Arthurs within four minutes, leaving the scores standing at 14-6 heading into the break.
Again, despite the Sharks’ valiant attempt to keep the game alive continuing right up to the final play of the match, the Broncos always looked in control of the game. A Herbie Farnworth special saw Brisbane stretch their lead out further with a little more than 10 left to play, before Will Kennedy gave Cronulla one last chance to pull off a miracle when he narrowly grounded the ball in the 75th minute, reducing the home side’s deficit to only eight points. This effort would prove too little too late, however, with the Broncos able to solidify their defence and wind down the clock to walk away with the victory.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR POINTS
Embed from Getty Images3 – Kotoni Staggs (Broncos)
2 – Herbie Farnworth (Broncos)
1 – Siosifa Talakai (Sharks)
