5 talking points from Brothers’ round 1 TRL win over Souths

In our feature match of the week, Souths and Brothers faced off at Gold Park in the opening round of the TRL. Check out our five biggest talking points from the action-packed contest on Sunday.

Brothers and Southern Suburbs before their round 1 Toowoomba Rugby League game at Gold Park on Sunday.

Gold Park was the place to be on Sunday as Souths hosted Brothers in a thrilling clash in the opening round of the TRL.

After a difficult 2023 season, Brothers gave their fans plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the future ahead after a hard fought 36-24 win over Souths.

Check out the five biggest talking points from the clash below.

Ash Taylor (pictured playing for the Gold Coast Titans in 2018) was immense in his return to Brothers on Sunday.

New signings hit the ground running

Ash Taylor and Tony Clevin were two marquee additions for Brothers this year after they made the switch from Newtown and immediately made their presence felt.

Taylor’s leadership as captain and coach was clear to see as he marshalled the troops in offence and defence but it was his playmaking which was a class above.

He set up multiple tries in the first half and also crossed over for the penultimate try of the game with just over five minutes left on the clock.

While Taylor was a perennial threat at five-eighth, Clevin put in a masterful performance at fullback and was involved with almost everything that went well for Brothers.

His footwork was electric as he skipped past countless defenders and made line breaks, while his kicking game was also superb as he perfectly complimented the work of Taylor.

Clevin’s individual class rose to the forefront when it mattered most as he made a try-saving tackle at the end of the first half when Souths seemed certain to score off a line break from an intercept pass.

Then, late in the game, with his side trailing, his efforts from a short kick-off allowed his side to retain possession and score from the following set which put them in front with less than 10 minutes to play.

Bryce Whale scored one of the early tries for Brothers against Souths on Sunday. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Brothers set the tempo early

As both sides ran out for their opening game of the season, both sets of players were eager to hit the ground running and make an early impact.

From the outset, the visitors were locked in as they scored from their first set of the game and backed it up with a second try just five minutes later.

The strong start gave Brothers the launch pad they needed to control the contest as they held the lead for almost the entire game.

Souths’ immense goal line defence

In the early stages of the second half, Brothers looked to extend their lead and their stranglehold on the contest.

They had all the momentum and territory during a five-minute assault which saw them earn several repeat sets from goal line dropouts.

However, Souths held firm and refused to be beaten with a heroic stretch of defending.

Souths almost steal a win with late fightback

After trailing for the majority of the game, Souths, spurred on by their home faithful, fought back to hit the front with a pair of tries in the final 20 minutes of the game.

After being on the back foot for most of the contest, the home side took the ascendancy after their impressive defensive run and caught a passive Brothers side off guard.

However, despite hitting the lead with just over 10 minutes to play, they were unable to hold on as Brothers fought back to claim the win.

Brothers’ ruthless finish

After a passive period throughout the mid stages of the second half, the Leprechauns turned the tables of the contest immediately after they fell behind.

Brothers caught the home side off-guard from a short kick-off with Clevin making his presence felt yet again.

The visitors restored their lead with a converted try from that set and did not look back for the rest of the game as they scored another two tries in the final six minutes to put the game on ice.