The Brisbane Broncos have survived a scare, coming from behind to defeat the Newcastle Knights 24-20 in an exciting clash at Suncorp Stadium.
Result
Brisbane Broncos 24
Tries: Selwyn Cobbo (33, 46), Brendan Piakura (69), Adam Reynolds (77)
Goals: Adam Reynolds (34, 47, 70, 78)
Newcastle Knights 20
Tries: Dominic Young (18, 59), Kalyn Ponga (36), Mat Croker (55)
Goals: Jackson Hastings (37, 60)
Report
Fresh off a strong performance against the Sharks last week, the Broncos hosted the Knights at Suncorp Stadium, with the Knights coming off a bye. An early chance for Corey Oates was denied by desperation defence from Dane Gagai, as the Broncos searched for first points. After conceding penalties in their own half, the Broncos invited the Knights onto the front foot and the Knights capitalised. Dominic Young finished off a backline shift to grab the first try of the game.
With the Knights taking the lead, further ill-discipline from the Broncos helped keep them on the attack. As a result, the Knights went close to scoring again, this time Greg Marzhew was denied a try by the bunker. Following the close call, the Broncos finally found their first points against the run of play. Adam Reynolds got a fortuitous bounce to regather his own kick, then passed back inside for Selwyn Cobbo to score untouched.
However, the Knights would strike back just before halftime. Kalyn Ponga sliced through the defence on halfway and stepped around Reece Walsh to score a long rang solo try, helping the Knights to a 10-6 lead at the break.
Coming out of halftime, the Knights made the first error, and the Broncos made them pay. A Reece Walsh cut-out pass to Selwyn Cobbo setup the winger’s second try. Much like the first half, the Knights were quick to fire back. With expansive passing, Dominic Young broke free and passed inside for Mat Croker to score. Five minutes later, Young was in the action again, as the Knights stripped the Broncos for numbers and Young scored his second try.
After falling behind, the Broncos brought Payne Haas and Pat Carrigan back on, giving them the lift they needed. This surge in momentum resulted in Reece Walsh setting up a try for Brendan Piakura, cutting the margin back to two. The deciding moment was a Kobe Hetherington offload, which put Adam Reynolds through the line. He combined with Ezra Mam, who produced a flick pass back to Reynolds who scored the match sealing try.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR POINTS
Embed from Getty Images3 – Reece Walsh (Brisbane Broncos)
2 – Kalyn Ponga (Newcastle Knights)
1 – Payne Haas (Brisbane Broncos)
