The attacking brilliance of the Brisbane Broncos spine has set them up for another victory, beating the Parramatta Eels 26-16 in front of a sold out crowd in Darwin
Result
Brisbane Broncos 26
Tries: Herbie Farnworth (14), Adam Reynolds (23), Ezra Mam (25), Kotoni Staggs (33)
Goals: Adam Reynolds 5 (4, 24, 27, 46, 55)
Parramatta Eels 16
Tries: Clint Gutherson (19), Maika Sivo (58), Sean Russell (63)
Goals: Mitchell Moses 2 (21, 60)
Report
A dominant attacking first half by the Brisbane Broncos has set them up for a 26-16 win over the Parramatta Eels in front of 11,864 fans at TIO Stadium in Darwin.
The combination of Adam Reynolds, Reece Walsh and Ezra Mam was in full flight as the Broncos overcame hot, humid, wet conditions to beat the Eels, despite not scoring a try in the second half.
A successful challenge by Billy Walters in the opening minutes saw a knock-on call overturned, resulting in a strip penalty in front of the posts. Reynolds stepped up to give the Broncos a 2-0 lead.
The Broncos scored the first try in the 15th minute when Sean Russell couldn’t handle a Reynolds bomb, gifting Herbie Farnworth a four-pointer. Reynolds conversion attempt hit the upright, leaving the score at 6-0.
The Eels hit back five minutes later, when Dylan Brown kicked on tackle one for Clint Gutherson to score. Mitchell Moses converted to bring the scores level.
It took only four minutes for the Broncos to take the lead back, scoring when Reynolds sent Mam into space with an inside pass on the last. A spectacular flick from Mam back to Reynolds sent the halfback into score under the posts.
A barnstorming charge by Payne Haas put them in attacking position again in the following set. A kick by Walsh looked certain to go dead, however bounced up perfectly for Kotoni Staggs to knock it back for Mam to score near the posts.
The bounce of the ball favoured Staggs again in the 33rd minute, giving him a try to push the Broncos lead to 22-6, where it remained at half time.
With rain pouring and the humidity pushing up to 90%, the Eels night went from bad to worse, losing Bailey Simonsson to a HIA, then losing J’Maine Hopgood to the sin bin due to a hip drop, after Gutherson had knocked on attempting to prevent a 40/20 from Reynolds.
Reynolds added a pair of penalty goals in the opening 15 minutes of the half to extend the lead to 26-6.
Momentum started to turn the Eels way on the hour mark, with Maika Sivo outleaping Selwyn Cobbo to score off a Brown kick. Moses converted to cut the deficit to 26-12.
A booming penalty kick for touch by Moses put the Eels in attacking range again in the next set. Defending their own line, the Broncos lost Mam to the sin bin for another hip drop, giving the Eels another penalty. The took advantage, shifting to Sean Russell in the right-hand corner.
Russell looked to have scored his second with less than four minutes remaining to keep the game alive, however the last pass from Moses travelled forward.
That was the last chance the Eels had, going down by ten points.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR POINTS
Embed from Getty Images3 – Adam Reynolds (Broncos)
2 – Reece Walsh (Broncos)
1 – Payne Haas (Broncos)
