Brisbane Broncos in tatters after Cronulla Sharks rally for miracle escape
The Broncos’ finals hopes are in tatters after the Sharks conjured a footballing miracle to break Brisbane’s hearts.
The Broncos’ finals hopes are in tatters – and so is coach Anthony Seibold’s future – after the Sharks conjured a footballing miracle to break Brisbane’s hearts in a thriller at Suncorp Stadium.
Brisbane looked to have earned a thoroughly-deserved victory when maligned veteran Darius Boyd produced one of the finest performances of his career, setting up four tries to propel the Broncos to a 26-18 lead.
But with Brisbane humming with 10 minutes remaining, they sensationally imploded as the injury-ravaged Sharks scored three tries in eight minutes to consign the shattered Broncos to their ninth loss in the past 10 weeks.
If the Bulldogs produce a boilover against Parramatta on Sunday, the Broncos will officially be last on for-and-against.
How the Broncos blew this game is beyond belief – and sums up their horror campaign.
With Boyd in sizzling form in his return to fullback, the Broncos were the better side for most of the night and appeared comfortable when he put Kotoni Staggs over for his second try in the 57th minute for an eight-point break.
But with victory in sight, the Broncos choked. Cronulla duo Sione Katoa (70th) and Connor Treacy (75th) crossed to give the Sharks the lead and when Braden Hamlin-Uele crashed over two minutes from time, Cronulla savoured a famous triumph.
“They’ve forgotten how to win, they had it in the bag,” Braith Anasta said on Fox League after Tracy crossed for the Sharks in the 76th minute to give the travelling side the lead for the first time in the second half.
Channel Nine’s Phil Gould praised the Sharks but said it was time for the Broncos to take a good look in the mirror.
“Sharks too good,” Gould posted on Twitter. “When game was on the line they lifted. Broncos? When game was on the line they wilted. No getting away from it.
“Sharks have a lot of good kids there. Indicates a bright future. Broncos need to face the facts. Honesty test. Not good enough from them.”
The Broncos have now won three of 12 games and appear to be no hope of making the playoffs. If that is the case, there is surely no way Seibold can survive an end-of-season performance review.
Boyd didn’t deserve to be a loser on Friday night. Playing his first game at fullback in 390 days, Boyd was Darius the Destroyer, having a hand in four of Brisbane’s five tries as he and two-try strike weapon Staggs terrorised the Sharks.
Boyd was axed as captain and fullback in pre-season by Seibold and he has been so ineffective at left centre that NRL Immortal Andrew Johns recently called for him to be dropped.
But the 33-year-old was outstanding before 7390 fans, delivering a display that evoked images of his tenure as Queensland and Australia’s pre-eminent fullback ahead of Billy Slater in 2016.
Broncos pair Staggs and Herbie Farnworth have the makings of a fine centre combination. Staggs’ energy brings a dynamic edge to Brisbane and his hunger in both attack and defence makes the Broncos a better team.
If it wasn’t his piercing, straight-line burst for Brisbane’s 18th-minute try, it was his desperate trysaver to deny Sharks winger Ronaldo Mulitalo just after halftime.
“That’s desire. That’s what you want to see if you’re a fan of the Brisbane Broncos or if you’re a coach, player or teammate,” Fox League’s Braith Anasta said of the tackle.
“He had to fight every inch to get there on time Kotoni Staggs,” Anasta said. “For all money they were going to score, a beautiful pass from Braydon Trindall to Ronaldo Mulitalo.”
The NSW Origin hopeful was ably supported by Farnworth, who ran strongly all night.
But Brisbane kept the Sharks in the contest with some terrible defensive reads in their red zone.
By rights, the Broncos should have led at halftime. They completed better, made more line breaks and run metres and missed fewer tackles, but Brisbane’s fragility in defence resulted in an 18-14 halftime deficit. The Sharks had just six tackles in the opposition 20-metre area in the first half yet somehow managed three tries, chiefly because of the Broncos’ inability to number-up and tendency to panic on their tryline.
Hooker Jake Turpin made a difference to Brisbane’s spine. Returning from a fractured leg, Turpin sets the standard for the Broncos with his workrate and toughness. His dummy-half snipe and pass for Rhys Kennedy’s 33rd-minute try was a clever play.
The Courier-Mail
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