Broncos beat Sharks: Five things we learned
COREY Oates is desperately unlucky not to be playing State of Origin while Joe Ofahengaue is a ready-made Maroon. Here’s what we took from Brisbane’s win over Cronulla.
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1. COREY Oates is desperately unlucky not to be playing State of Origin. The Broncos winger amassed 222 metres and pulled off a superb trysaver on James Segeyaro in the 59th minute. Then he produced the play of the game, somehow finding the tryline with his Go-Go Gadget arms to break Cronulla’s hearts. He is Brisbane’s best wing kick returner since Wendell Sailor.
REPORT: Oates stunner gets Broncos past Sharks
2. JOE Ofahengaue has to be given his Queensland Origin debut. For the 10th consecutive week, the Broncos prop exceeded 100 metres, running for 157 off the bench as he stepped up when Tevita Pangai Jr went off injured. His massive 114kg frame is just what the Maroons need for Origin II.
3. THE Broncos need to fix their second-half efforts if they want to be a genuine title contender. They completed at a superb 94 per cent in the first half but they switched off again after the break to allow Cronulla to come storming back into the contest.
4. THE Broncos will be sweating on the health of key forwards Tevita Pangai Jr and Sam Thaiday. Pangai Jr appeared to suffer rib damage in the 21st minute while Thaiday departed early with a leg problem with just one hit-up to his name. Thaiday returned in the second half to suggest any niggle is not serious.
5. DARIUS Boyd has had a challenging season but he deserved victory in his 150th NRL game for the Broncos. The Brisbane skipper put aside the pain of his Origin I omission by setting up the matchwinner for Oates with good vision.
Originally published as Broncos beat Sharks: Five things we learned