NRL Nines 2020: Anthony Milford cleared as Broncos exit tournament early

Key playmaker Anthony Milford has been cleared of any serious injury as the Broncos finish their disastrous NRL Nines campaign as the worst performing Queensland side.

Anthony Milford was ruled out of the tournament after their round 1 game with a hamstring injury. Picture: AAP.

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Key Brisbane pivot Anthony Milford has been cleared for the NRL premiership despite being placed on ice yesterday as the bumbling Broncos crashed out of the NRL Nines tournament.

Installed as favourites to win the Nines after naming a star-studded squad, the Broncos finished the weekend as the worst-performed Queensland side after being bundled out in the pool stage with a 1-1 record.

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Anthony Milford was ruled out of the tournament after their round 1 game with a hamstring injury. Picture: AAP.

But there was a silver lining to the Broncos’ struggles at HBF Park with Nines coach Kurt Richards confirming the squad has been cleared of any major injuries - Milford included.

Brisbane’s highest-paid player tweaked his left hamstring in his side’s 17-11 derby loss to the Cowboys on Friday, prompting Richards to sideline Milford for yesterday’s 12-8 defeat of the Storm in their final pool game.

Richards said Milford has suffered a very minor strain but is adamant the Queensland Origin utility will take his place in the No.6 jumper for Brisbane’s premiership opener against the Cowboys on March 13.

“He will definitely be fine for the premiership and ‘Milf’ could even play one more trial before round one,” Richards said.

Former player Corey Parker made his NRL return for the Broncos but only saw limited time. Picture: Getty Images.

“We are aiming for the NRL season and I didn’t want to take the risk with Milf.

“It’s a very minor hamstring injury, I don’t know the gradings but it’s as minor as you can get.

“If we had have got through to the quarters, he may have been a chance of coming back, but it wasn’t worth the risk for him to play in that game against the Storm.

“We want Milf to be ready to go for round one and he will be fine for that.”

On paper, the Broncos had the squad to win the Nines. But the reality was very different with the Broncos engineering their own demise, giving away numerous penalties, making unforced errors and struggling to build pressure.

When pool rivals the Cowboys edged out Manly 10-7 yesterday, it left the Broncos facing the difficult task of beating the Storm by 18 points or more to progress to the quarter-finals on percentages.

But when the Storm posted the first two tries for an 8-0 lead, the Broncos’ tournament hopes were in tatters.

To their credit, Brisbane bounced back after the break, with Kotoni Staggs and Jamayne Isaako crossing to snatch a four-point victory, but their negative differential delivered the bullet to their title dreams.

“It’s disappointing,” Richards said.

“I was happy to get a win over Melbourne but disappointed we didn’t get the chance to reach the knockout stage.

The form of the Broncos youngsters was one of their few silver linings at the NRL Nines. Picture: Getty Images.

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“We just struggled for field position. We had a lot of opportunities coming off our line. If we had more ball in the red zone anything could have happened.”

Brisbane big guns David Fifita and Payne Haas were well-contained with the hulking duo barely firing a shot.

However, several rookies made an impression, with Tesi Niu a constant threat and Herbie Farnworth heavily involved. Halves Brodie Croft and Tom Dearden were also solid.

“There were some positives to take out of it,” Richards said.

“Tesi was one of our best, he was dangerous every time he had the ball and Brodie did well getting us around the park.

“The main thing is we are injury-free, we are looking forward to round one, we’re building something.”