NRL 2023: Brisbane Broncos win 24-20 over Knights as epic Ezra Mam flick pass saves the day
Broncos star Ezra Mam has produced a miracle, with the star five-eighth doing his best Benji Marshall impression to save the day for Brisbane and possibly secure an Origin recall for Adam Reynolds.
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Adam Reynolds kept his NSW Origin selection hopes alive as the Broncos champion and halves partner Ezra Mam produced a moment of magic to inspire Brisbane’s 24-20 great escape against Newcastle on Saturday night.
Knights legend Matt Johns labelled Reynolds and Mam the new Allan Langer-Kevin Walters alliance and Brisbane’s dynamic duo delivered in the dying minutes to break Newcastle’s hearts before 35,814 at Suncorp Stadium.
With the Broncos trailing 20-18 with three minutes to go, Brisbane looked gone before Mam raced upfield and unleashed a Benji Marshall-style flick pass for Reynolds to crash over in the 77th minute.
The Suncorp miracle ensured the Broncos (11-4) remain ladder leaders, while it was a gut-wrenching collapse for the Knights, who had every reason to claim victory after a superb skipper’s knock from Kalyn Ponga.
The injury-ravaged NSW Origin side had a scare when Knights back-rower Tyson Frizell left the field in the 46th minute, but he was cleared of any major neck problem.
ALF AND KEVVIE 2.0
What a flick pass. What a play.
The Broncos were scrappy all night, but when it mattered, Mam and Reynolds delivered the type of silky one-two punch that made Langer and Walters premiership champions during Brisbane’s glory years.
“Alfie and Kevvie couldn’t have done that,” coach Walters said with a wry grin. “The flick pass from Ezra was superb and Adam was there, he has been in some big moments in his career.
“It was a perfect example of why he brought Reyno here.
“I liked the tenacity of our group, we stayed in the game right until the end.”
REYNO RESCUE
There has been a push for Reynolds to replace the injured Nathan Cleary as NSW halfback for Origin II, but the Broncos skipper had some scratchy moments in the lead-up to his match-winner.
Reynolds’ kicking radar, usually so precise, was scrambled in the first half and while his midfield bomb led to a fortuitous Selwyn Cobbo try in the 32nd minute, he was brushed aside by Ponga for the sizzling solo try which gave the Knights a 10-6 half-time lead.
Bitta MAM MAGIC for ya Saturday Night.
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There’s no question 265-game schemer Reynolds would handle an Origin recall, but his fate rests in the hands of NSW coach Brad Fittler.
“I’ve played my game, I’ve done all I can,” Reynolds said. “I know the game a lot better now and I’m confident in my game. I know my strengths and weaknesses.
“It’s irrelevant what I think, it’s up to (the NSW selectors) and if they don’t go with me, I’ll still be cheering on the Blues.”
FULLBACK FEUD
A bombshell omission for Origin I, Ponga oozed class as he waged a cracking fullback battle with Reece Walsh, the Broncos dynamo who stole his Queensland No.1 jumper for the series opener.
The duo went at it like two world-title heavyweights.
It was a brilliant backfield exhibition and while Ponga was outstanding, Walsh was equally dominant, amassing 157 metres, 13 tackle busts and two try assists in a high-octane display.
Their clash was summed up in the final minutes when Walsh charged at Ponga, who duly smashed him. Superb stuff.
“I’m happy to put my best foot forward for the Knights,” Ponga said of his Origin absence.
“Fullback is my natural position and I guess I might stay there.
“Reece is a quality player, I don’t know why there was any doubt about him for Origin.”
DYNAMIC DUO
Brisbane’s Origin winger Cobbo and Newcastle’s axed Maroon Dane Gagai were both marvellous for their respective teams.
Cobbo claimed another double and now has eight tries from four games against Newcastle, while Gagai was arguably the best player on the park, having a hand in three of his side’s tries with some subtle hands.
With Gagai and Ponga in mesmeric touch, Newcastle could sniff a boilover, but electric Ezra and his ice-cool skipper held their nerve to inflict a Suncorp ‘Knight-mare’.
“I was proud of the effort,” Knights coach Adam O’Brien said. “We’re better at coping with adversity, but with the players Brisbane have, I was never comfortable.”
COOPER CRONK SERVES PAYNE HAAS A REALITY CHECK
Kevin Walters has labelled Payne Haas the world’s best prop as Queensland legend Cooper Cronk challenged the Brisbane enforcer to deliver a Broncos premiership to achieve “greatness” in the NRL.
Statistics obtained by News Corp show Haas is the only prop in the NRL to have exceeded 8000 running metres in the past three seasons – underlining his dominance ahead of Saturday night’s clash against Newcastle at Suncorp Stadium.
Haas is approaching a century of games for the Broncos – he plays his 94th top-grade fixture against the Knights – and his metre-eating engine has underpinned Brisbane’s surge to an equal share of the premiership lead.
Every premiership side has a great enforcer and the Broncos are banking on Haas’ colossal midfield efforts to be the driving force in Brisbane’s snapping their 17-year title drought.
The 23-year-old, if fully fit, will be one of the first forwards picked for NSW for Origin II and Walters says the Broncos’ emphatic resurgence this season can be attributed to a once-in-a-generation prop the Brisbane coach believes is in a league of his own.
“If Payne’s not the best prop in the game at the moment, someone needs to tell me who is better than him,” Walters said as Haas prepares to face his former NSW Origin teammate Daniel Saifiti in the Broncos-Knights showdown.
“Payne is still so young in his career and it’s great to have him here.
“I really like his application. We are looking forward to seeing him doing what he does best against the Knights and that’s running hard and making his tackles.”
Cold, hard data shows no prop punches through the midfield quite like Haas, who is in the sights of Rugby Australia.
Since the start of 2021, Brisbane’s highest-paid player has charged for a remarkable 8157 metres at an average of 156m per game.
No other prop in that time has reached 8000m, with Haas’ Queensland Origin sparring partner, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, ranked second to the Broncos bookend with 7702m.
Even in post-contact metres, Haas is the front-row king, posting a record 3657m, well ahead of Joe Tapine (3123m), Tom Burgess (3087m), Fa’asuamaleaui (3048m) and David Klemmer (3048m).
Off-contract at the end of 2024, Haas has won the Paul Morgan Medal four times as Brisbane’s best-and-fairest. Brisbane’s greatest halfback, Allan Langer, is the only other Bronco to achieve that feat.
Former Queensland Origin, Storm and Test champion halfback Cronk is blown away by Haas’ consistency and says the final frontier for the NSW prop is leading Brisbane to their first premiership since 2006.
“Payne is the best front-rower in our game,” said Fox League analyst Cronk.
“He’s a bit like the stage that Nathan Cleary (Penrith halfback) is at as a player.
“Destiny is in his own hands.
“If he continues on this trajectory, with the work ethic he has got and the mental toughness and physical readiness for every game, who knows what Haas can achieve.
“He is literally dominating the game from the front-row position.
“You can throw that comment at only a handful of front-rowers throughout the history of our game.
“The only thing Payne has to do is win trophies, because he has done the consistency thing for years now. The only thing missing for him is winning the big moments in big games which make you elite.
“Haas is in the early stages, but if he can put this over 10 years, we will be bowing in the presence of greatness.”
Australia coach Mal Meninga, who handed Haas his green-and-gold debut in 2019, believes Origin and Test workhorse is the closest thing to the perfect prop.
“The longer you play in this game and do well, the more kudos you should get,” Meninga said.
“To be honest, I’m not even sure how Payne gets better because his effort levels are fantastic … he very rarely misses a tackle.
“He has been setting these standards for quite a while. Every game he is coming out and making 19 runs and 150 metres, making 30 to 40 tackles every week.
“Payne was criticised a little bit last year, but his efforts off the ball are tremendous. It’s never a lack of effort.
“He needed his Broncos teammates to lift their standards around him and they have.”
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