Matt Attard reviews the Broncos 26-8 victory over the Bulldogs at Suncorp Stadium. Here’s how the game went.
MATCH TIMELINE
| Minute | Scoring Play | Score |
| 7th | Try Corey Oates (Broncos) | Broncos 4-0 |
| 16th | Try Tevita Pangai Junior (Broncos) | Broncos 8-0 |
| 16th | Goal Jamayne Isaako | Broncos 10-0 |
| 29th | Try Nick Meaney | Broncos 10-4 |
| 44th | Try Jamayne Isaako | Broncos 14-4 |
| 45th | Goal Jamayne Isaako | Broncos 16-4 |
| 55th | Goal Jamayne Isaako | Broncos 18-4 |
| 61st | Try Xavier Coates | Broncos 22-4 |
| 69th | Try Dallin Watene-Zelezniak | Broncos 22-8 |
| 76th | Try Jamayne Isaako | Broncos 26-8 |
MATCH SUMMARY
Diabolical best describes the performance of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs as they played the Brisbane Broncos into form at Suncorp Stadium.
Make no mistake, the Broncos were almost as poor as they have been in recent weeks, but Canterbury were far worse, making their opposition look like world beaters.
After a mound of pressure to make changes, Broncos coach Anthony Siebold resisted while Dean Pay opted to start hooker Sione Katoa.
It was all the Broncos early on, with a heap of set restarts and penalties from the Bulldogs allowing Corey Oates to power his way over from close range.
After 84 percent possession and 10 from 10 sets, the Broncos finally made an error. It was quickly followed up by the Bulldogs second error for the match.
Tevita Pangai Junior and Payne Haas wreaked havoc on the Bulldogs with late offloads and plenty of metres.
Xavier Coates looked to have latched onto a bomb but the Bunker spotted a knock on in the lead up to deny the winger.
Frustratingly for the Bulldogs Aiden Tolman dropped it cold in the ensuing set, allowing Pangai Junior to toe the ball forward and ground it next to the posts for a well deserved 10-0 lead.
The weight of possession continued to go the Broncos way following more errors from the visitors.
With a sniff of the try line the Bulldogs swept a play to Nick Meaney’s flank and following a Kieran Foran cut-out the winger touched down in spectacular fashion. His missed sideline conversion kept the gap at six.
The Bulldogs pressed the Broncos line shortly before halftime but a forward pass halted their momentum before recruit Luke Thompson was placed on report for a shoulder charge, while Renouf To’omaga succumbed to a shoulder injury.
Jamayne Isaako took four minutes to score the first points of the second half, pouncing on an early Anthony Milford kick that caught the visitors napping.
The Bulldogs were their own worst enemy with a mountain of mistakes denying them any chance of a comeback.
Reimis Smith was placed on report for a cannonball tackle that forced Alex Glenn from the field, allowing Isaako to kick a penalty goal.
From a scrum Coates crossed untouched from what was best described as a training run.
Foran gave the Bulldogs a glimpse of hope with 11 minutes remaining, cutting out two teammates for Dallin Watene-Zelezniak to score.
However, Meaney’s missed conversion and another error from the kick off set ensured a Broncos victory was imminent.
Pangai Junior’s sixth offload for the night was his best, delivering Isaako his second try.
SQUADS
BRISBANE BRONCOS: 1. Tesi Niu 2. Jamayne Isaako 3. Herbie Farnworth 4. Darius Boyd 5. Xavier Coates 6. Anthony Milford 7. Brodie Croft 8. Tevita Pangai Junior 9. Issac Luke 10. Payne Haas 11. Alex Glenn 12. Corey Oates 13. Patrick Carrigan Interchange 15. Thomas Flegler 17. Ben Te’o 18. Cory Paix 19. Jamil Hopoate.
CANTERBURY BULLDOGS: 1. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 2. Nick Meaney 3. Reimis Smith 4. Marcelo Montoya 5. Christian Crichton 6. Kieran Foran 7. Brandon Wakeham 8. Aiden Tolman 21. Sione Katoa 10. Dylan Napa 11. Josh Jackson 12. Raymond Faitala-Mariner 13. Luke Thompson Interchange: 9. Jeremy Marshall-King 16. Renouf To’omaga 17. Sauaso Sue 19. Ofahiki Ogden.
