Darius Boyd says Brisbane shot themselves in the foot in agonising loss to Melbourne

DARIUS Boyd and Wayne Bennett say sloppy execution cost the Broncos in their agonising 14-12 loss to Melbourne.

Andrew McCullough of the Broncos with the ball, during the Round 3 NRL match between the Melbourne Storm and the Brisbane Broncos at AAMI Park in Melbourne, Thursday, March 16, 2017. (AAP Image/Joe Castro) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

BRONCOS coach Wayne Bennett lamented Brisbane’s execution as skipper Darius Boyd lashed his side for “shooting ourselves in the foot” in their gutsy loss to the Storm.

Brisbane almost evoked images of their famous 2015 AAMI Park triumph, with Melbourne having enough ball last night to win by 20 points.

The Broncos’ defence was outstanding, with Matt Gillett and Andrew McCullough making 97 tackles between them to keep the visitors in the contest.

Bennett admired his side’s defensive grit, but he was more concerned with the unforced errors and execution that gave Melbourne the field position to scrape home.

Brisbane were undone in the final moments.

“If they get their execution right, they can do something in this competition,” Bennett said.

“We were very brave, very courageous. We didn’t play well, but we stayed at it.

“The worst defeat is when you beat yourself and that’s the feeling I have right now. It’s the disappointment that we lost it ourselves.

“A lot of the boys defended well out there, but we have to get our execution better and the rest will come.”

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The Broncos handled Melbourne’s offensive shapes well in the opening 20 minutes but two consecutive turnovers by Anthony Milford and Sam Thaiday shifted momentum.

It was that kind of night for the Broncos, who received a scare when captain Boyd injured his knee two minutes after halftime.

The Maroons ace looked to be in some trouble but refused to leave the field and managed to run out the injury as he waged a thrilling backfield duel with returning Storm champion Billy Slater.

Boyd was pleased to see Slater emerge unscathed but his pressing concern was Brisbane’s lack of discipline with the ball. At one point, the Broncos conceded five straight penalties in a tense second half.

Hunt scored a fine solo try.

“We made too many errors, we shot ourselves in the foot,” Boyd said.

Of Slater, he added: “It’s great to see Bill back, I thought he was pretty good after so long out of the game.”

Bennett said he was pleased with halfback Ben Hunt, who put aside a quiet first-half to score a brilliant solo try nine minutes after the break for a 12-8 lead.

Originally published as Darius Boyd says Brisbane shot themselves in the foot in agonising loss to Melbourne