It was the battle of the boots at Accor Stadium as Matt Burton and Adam Reynolds went toe to toe on Sunday night time at Accor Stadium.
In the long run, it was Reynolds – ably assisted by Herbie Farnworth – who got here out on prime with the Broncos edging it 16-10 within the second half to take Brisbane to 2-0 for the season.
For the Broncos, the outcome compounds the sensation that the tradition on the membership has modified.
At factors within the final two seasons, the Broncos may have been accused of missing effort, however tonight, as they repelled waves of assault with the sport on the road and as gamers visibly struggled with fatigue and cramp, their dedication couldn’t be doubted for a second.
On the opposite aspect, Trent Barrett might be questioning how his aspect managed to attain simply ten factors in a recreation the place that they had 59% of possession. For all their ball and – just like the Broncos – excellent software, the creativity failed when it mattered.
The Canines made an enormous 20 offloads to Brisbane’s two, however their tries had been a dart from dummy half and a crashover from Braidon Burns. Barrett, such an efficient half in his time, can have severe questions for his playmakers.
That stated, he couldn’t fault Matt Burton with the boot. The Bulldogs 5 eighth and his Broncos counterpart shared simply shy of a thousand kicking metres between them throughout the 80 minutes.
Burton managed to bamboozle the Broncos again three with regularity, sending spiral bombs into the Sydney sky that Tesi Niu, Selwyn Cobbo and Corey Oates persistently did not cope with.
Adam Reynolds of the Broncos runs the ball. (Photograph by Mark Kolbe/Getty Pictures)
Reynolds triggered the Canines backs comparable difficulties, although Matt Dufty, Josh Addo-Carr and Jayden Okunbor had been extra completed in dealing with the barrage.
He was additionally robbed off the help of the season with a between-the-legs move that Kotoni Staggs acquired over the road, however did not floor.
Albert Kelly, largely quiet, had used his personal boot to interrupt the sport open with a pinpoint chip over Okunbor for Oates to seize the Broncos’ first after Braidon Burns had opened the scoring ten minutes in.
After a quick begin, the sport descended into an old style grind: Tevita Pangai Junior and Payne Haas appeared to be partaking in their very own private conflict for supremacty within the center.
The second half noticed Jeremy Marshall-King put the Canines again in entrance, earlier than a sensible ball steal from Herbie Farnworth levelled the scores.
Staggs was then denied – appropriately – by the bunker earlier than Farnworth once more intervened, skinning Okunbor to seize the match-winner.
That was with 16 minutes nonetheless to play, however push as they did, the Bulldogs couldn’t make their approach by way of.
