Rabbitohs v Broncos: Greg Inglis’ 250th ends in disappointing 24-20 defeat to Brisbane
YOU deserved better, big fella. Souths superstar Greg Inglis was on Thursday night denied what he richly deserved – success in his 250th NRL game after the Rabbitohs went down to Brisbane.
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YOU deserved better, big fella.
South Sydney superstar Greg Inglis was on Thursday night cruelly denied what he richly deserved – success in his 250th NRL game.
Try as he did, Inglis and his South Sydney side was defeated 24-20 by Brisbane in front of 11,123 fans at ANZ Stadium.
It was a terrible shame watching the dejected figure of Inglis walk off ANZ Stadium at fulltime.
But no one loss can tarnish such a glorious career.
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Inglis: legend, champion, winner, ambassador, icon. What a player, what a career. And it ain’t over yet.
The Rabbitohs powerhouse took another small step forward on Thursday night from a season-ending knee injury last year, despite the Bunnies loss.
It was also Tom Burgess’ 100th NRL match.
“Look, I’ve been blessed to be in this game for a very long time,” Inglis said.
“But I’m not worried about that at the moment.
“I’m more worried about our team performance. I will go home and celebrate.
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“Obviously it’s a milestone but, in terms of a team effort, myself included, it wasn’t up to our standards at all.
“It was just disappointing we didn’t brand our brand footy.”
Tribute flowed on the big screen pre-game from legends Sam Burgess, Justin Hodges, Ryan Hoffman, Cam Smith, Johnathan Thurston, Billy Slater, Mal Meninga and Scott Prince.
Inglis, 31, has now played 133 NRL games at Souths while notching 117 matches under coach Craig Bellamy at Melbourne.
He made his NRL debut for the Storm back in 2005 and roared into the Queensland side a year later.
And there is no doubt he will be back for Maroons again this year.
Inglis has been a wonderful player for 14 years now. He is one of the finest big-game players of the modern era.
“It was really important for Greg tonight,” said Souths Anthony Seibold.
“And for Tom. Greg, playing his 250th game, to not get the result, so he could celebrate, was disappointing.”
Defeat ended Souths’ chances of pinching a top four spot. They are now 4-4, as are the Broncos.
Souths winger Richie Kennar sustained an ankle injury that could sideline him for the season.
It was a big win for Brisbane, a team who entered the match under growing pressure.
The Broncos all but sealed victory with a try to centre James Roberts in the 64th minute. They came home over the top of Souths.
But there was to be one more twist.
Rabbitohs veteran John Sutton scored late to set-up a thrilling finish but, in the end, Souths ran second. Souths had been shooting for three straight wins.
“Fifty-nine percent ball control in the first half and in the second half, one or two errors, that’s all we had - that was the difference for us,” said Broncos coach Wayne Bennett.
“We didn’t get that right we wouldn’t have won the game.”
Broncos rookie Payne Haas – just 18 years old and weighing 120kgs - was thrown into the game on debut in the 53rd minute. He is a beast; a star of the future.
He had run for 86 metres after just 19 minutes on the field.
“He wasn’t bad for first time,” Bennett said.
Broncos prop Matt Lodge was hooked at halftime by Bennett uninjured. Hooker Josh McGuire limped off with an ankle/Achilles injury early in the second half and didn’t return.
“All Broncos teams hang in and hang tough for each other,” Seibold said.
“We didn’t get the job done – we just weren’t good enough.”
Souths scored two first half tries to lead 12-6 at halftime.
The Bunnies certainly had their opportunities and would be bitterly disappointed to drop a home game.
BRISBANE 24 (D Boyd K Nikorima C Oates J Roberts tries J Isaako 4 goals) bt SOUTH SYDNEY 20 (A Johnston J Sutton C Walker tries A Reynolds 4 goals) at ANZ Stadium. Referee: Ben Cummins, Peter Gough. Crowd: 11,123.
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