Match Review thread

[Broncoman]

2004 Semi Final, North Queensland Cowboys V Brisbane Broncos, 18th September 2004, Dairy Farmers Stadium Townsville

With the Broncos and Cowboys meeting together in the first week of the finals on Saturday I thought it was appropriate that I watched the 2004 semi final between the Cowboys and Broncos in Townsville where on a emotion fueled night in the North the Cowboys in their 2nd finals game in the club's history finally beat their southern rivals in the 17th meeting between the two teams with a 10-0 victory in the lowest scoring finals match since 1992.

What was going on before the game?

The Cowboys in their 10th season in the league had wrote their name into the history books in 2004 where they at last qualified for the finals in 7th spot. Against the odds they scored an upset 30-22 win over the highly fancied Bulldogs and booked a place in the 2nd week of the finals. On the other hand the Broncos had lost momentum late in the season despite finishing 3rd on the table and it continued into the finals as Melbourne came from 8-0 behind at halftime in the first week to win 31-14. Excitement swept through North Queensland as the NRL moved the game from Sydney to Townsville and a capacity crowd turned up marking a memorable moment for the game in Queensland.

1st half

The Broncos had problems from the start as Gorden Tallis in possibly his last game had to start from the bench after pulling a hammy in the warm ups. There was no softening up period as both teams threw the ball around in attack and the game swung from end to end with both teams missing chances to score. Just before the 20 minute mark a soft penalty against Dane Carlaw gifted the Cowboys the first points as a simple kick from Josh Hannay went over. In the 24th minute the crowd erupted as the Cowboys grabbed the first try. On the last tackle a chip over the top from Bowen on the Brisbane 40 was overrun from 17 year old Kharmichael Hunt who failed to pick up the ball, David Myles swooped through gathered possession and scored next to the posts. After being reviewed by the Video refs they gave the try and the Cowboys were ahead 8-0 with Hannay's conversion. The score remained unchanged at the break and the Cowboys went into halftime with an 8-0 advantage.

2nd half

The Cowboys had to scramble in defence early in the second half as they forced Tame Tupou into touch a few meters out from their own line to deny him a try. Josh Hannay extended the lead to 10 in the 51st minute after Hunt stripped the ball from Fien, Webcke claimed he was bitten but the penalty went against the Broncos and Hannay landed another simple goal and the Cowboys lead 10-0. Brisbane threw the ball around in the last quarter of the game with time against them but they had no answers to the Cowboys defense as Tupou was denied again after a break by Hunt. There was no change to the final score and the Cowboys had grabbed another history making finals win keeping the Broncos scoreless and marching on to the 3rd week of the finals with a 10-0 victory in front of 24,989 passionate fans.

Match Summary

A very memorable night and a very memorable moment for the Cowboys club. The game wasn't a classic by any means as both sides turned over a lot of possession especially when there was chances to score and the only try was only scored because of a mistake by someone but I didn't think it was the worst game. There was a big and loud crowd which made for a good atmosphere and the game was played by two teams who came to play football and thew the ball around from end to end. The Cowboys earned their win as they scored the game's only try, did their best in attack and scrambled in defense denying the Broncos whenever they looked like threatening.

North Queensland 10; Try by David Myles and 3 goals by Josh Hannay
Brisbane 0;

Notes

- Ben Ikin and Gorden Tallis played their finals game of first grade Rugby League as the Broncos loss ended their season. Nice to see Gordie getting cheered by the crowd after his team lost.

- Shane Webcke defied medical staff as he played just after an operation (i think) on his ankle. Didn't make any impact but the fact he played shows just how hard Webcke was.

- This was the first time an all Queensland finals game had been played

- I never knew that Steve Walters was a commentator on 9. He was the sideline reporter on the night.

- On a sidenote; the Cowboys run came to an end the next week as the Roosters advanced to their 3rd straight GF as they edged out the Cowboys 19-16 in a gripping contest. Just imagine if facebook and social media was around in 2004, the game ended in controversy as on the last play of the game the Cowboys put up a bomb which was taken by Minichiello but he lost the ball as he went down with it. There was 15 seconds on the clock and the Cowboys tried to get the scrum packed, Simpkins then blew fulltime as a couple of the Cowboys players got into his face and argued with him. All of the conspiracy theorists and nutcases would've been out of the woodwork blowing their horns over it and 'the cowboys were robbed' pages would be flying faster then hummingbirds. The Cowboys probably wouldn't have taken out the premiership as the Bulldogs of 2004 were an awesome team with plenty of more experience in big games then the Cowboys had. Would've made for an interesting game though.

Teams

North Queensland Cowboys

1: Matt Bowen
2: Ty Williams
3: Josh Hannay
4: Paul Bowman
5: Matt Sing
6: David Myles
7: Nathan Fien
8: Paul Rauhihi
9: Aaron Payne
10: Shane Tronc
11: Luke O'Donnell
12: Steve Southern
13: Travis Norton (captain)

14: Rod Jenson
15: Glenn Morrison
16: Leigh McWilliams
17: Mitch Sargent

Coach: Graham Murray

Brisbane Broncos

1: Kharmichael Hunt
2: Tame Tupou
3: Brent Tate
4: Shaun Berrigan
5: Stuart Kelly
6: Darren Lockyer
7: Casey McGuire
8: Shane Webcke
17: Ben Ikin
10: Petero Civoniceva
14: Corey Parker
12: Dane Carlaw
13: Tonie Carroll

9: Neville Costigan
11: Gorden Tallis (Captain)
18: Sam Thiaday
19: David Stagg

Coach: Wayne Bennett

 

[Big Pete]

I've got a replay of the game somewhere, been meaning to check it out.

Out of all the times the Broncos were eliminated, this was by far the most acceptable. I wasn't grinning ear to ear or anything like that, but at least it was a fairytale moment for a club that didn't have many in their favour. Besides, after the Bulldogs game, I knew the Broncos were sitting ducks.

I still regard 2004 as one of the better non-premiership seasons for the Broncos. Considering a lot of experts had the Broncos missing the Top 8, Brisbane lost their best halfback and hooker yet still finished 3rd was an incredible achievement.

Further for a 17 year old to take the competition by storm was ridiculous. I really think this period from 2004-07 really spoiled fans on rookies. In a limited time span we were exposed to guys like Sonny Bill Williams, Karmichael Hunt, Greg Inglis, Israel Folau & Jarryd Hayne who were all freak-ish from 17-19 years old. Even guys like Benji Marshall and Billy Slater debuted around this time. Nowadays, players can't even debut at Karmichael's age, let alone have the opportunity to dominate like he did.

 

[Broncoman]

2013 Qualifying Final, Sydney Roosters V Manly Sea Eagles, September 14th 2013, Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney ​

After the drama of the Sharks V Cowboys the Roosters and Manly meet in the 2nd round of the double header. After a titanic 80 minute battle the Roosters prevailed by 4-0 in the lowest scoring finals game since St George beat Illawarra 4-0 in a week 3 finals match in 1992.

What was going on before the game?

After 2 disappointing seasons after making the Grand Final which the Roosters finished 11th and 13th respectively, the Roosters under Trent Robinson transformed into an awesomely efficient side and in 2013 claimed the minor premiership for the first time since 2004 and recorded the best attack and defense of any team. Manly under Geoff Toovey continued the club's run of finals appearances going back to 2005 with another strong season which they finished 4th.

1st half

Strong running, collisions and tackles dominated the first 10 minutes as it was obvious this game was going to be a battle. The Roosters thanks to Maloney opened the scoring in the 10th minute as Maloney put through a grubber into the Manly in goal, the ball was dived on by RTS and after being reviewed by the video ref the try was awarded and RTS got a well earned try which was fitting as he drove Taufua into touch which gave the Roosters the chance to score. Maloney's kick hit the post and the score remained 4-0. Manly began to fightht back and DCE bombed a try after Jamie Lyon drew the Roosters defence superbly and sent Williams away but DCE took his eyes of the ball at the last moment. Lyon continued to give the Roosters trouble but scrambling defense was always meet when Manly got into the quarter. Manly had a great chance to level as a grubber by Foran was almost grounded by Horo but he failed to and Pearce was there to save the day. There was no change to the score and the RTS remained the difference.

2nd half

The brutality of the game didn't wane after the break and both sides continued ripping into each other and strived for the crucial score, Both sides forced line drop outs in the first few minutes but to no avail. The game continued at a fast pace but desperate defense continued to deny points and some sloppy mistakes started to come into play. The game began to get sloppy as mistakes were becoming the norm and denied points after defense was the dominant factor early. Manly mounted pressure in the last 20 minutes but the Roosters awesome defense just couldn't be broken and they held on for a gripping 4-0 victory sending them through to week 3 of the finals.

Match summary: A finals game for the purists. Hard hitting, tight, low scoring and hard fought from start to finish. Was captivating to watch, you don't need a glut load of points to have a great game and this game showed it as it was the best match of week 1 of the finals that year. It died of a bit after halftime though as the Roosters went off in attack and didn't really look like conjuring much after the break after looking good in the first half but dug deep and defense won the day for them.

Sydney Roosters 4; Try by Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
Manly Sea Eagles 0

Notes

- The Roosters held a team scoreless for the 6th time in a season in this game, previous teams held to nil by the Roosters that year were the Broncos, Eels, Bulldogs, Dragons and Sharks

- It was a bruising game as players went down with injuries but got themselves back into it

- LOL Martin Kennedy was such a joke player I've got no idea why anybody was so excited by him coming here and why anyone rated him at all. He is the Richard Villasanti of today

- The Roosters defensive effort was very good but not as good as I remembered it. It was a great effort as Manly had close to 40 tackles inside their 20 but the Roosters were helped by some poor options Manly made in the second half (passes to nobody etc) but definitely good though but not even close to our effort against the Storm this year or the Blues in Origin 1 last year.


Peta Hiku won the MOM award, should he have won it?

Hiku won the MOM award after filling in for B.Stewart at fullback. Whilst he did play very well and showed experience beyond his years I personally feel it should've gone to James Maloney. Maloney kicked very well all night, provided the only score of the game and defended solidly after copping a hit early on. Considering how low scoring the game was that should've been enough to get him the award. If you absolutely had to pick a Sea Eagle I would've given the award to Jamie Lyon who was outstanding in both attack and defense all night and was easily Manly's best player.

Sydney Roosters

1: Anthony Minichiello (Captain)
2: Daniel Tupou
3: Michael Jennings
4: Shaun Kenny-Dowall
5: Roger Tuivasa-Shek
6: James Maloney
7: Mitchell Pearce
10: Sam Moa
9: Jake Friend
18: Luke O'Donnell
12: Sonny Bill Williams
15: Aiden Guerra
13: Frank Paul-Nu'uausala

11: Mitch Aubusson
14: Daniel Mortimer
17: Dylan Napa
18: Martin Kennedy

Coach: Trent Robinson

Manly Sea Eagles

19: Peta Hiku
2: Jorge Taufua
3: Jamie Lyon (Captain)
4: Steve Matai
5: David Williams
6: Kieran Foran
7: Daly Cherry-Evans
8: Brenton Lawrence
9: Matt Ballin
10: Brent Kite
11: Anthony Watmough
12: Justin Horo
13: Glenn Stewart

14: Richie Fa'aosa
15: Tom Symonds
17: George Rose
20: Jamie Buhrer

Coach: Geoff Toovey

 

[Alec]

- LOL Martin Kennedy was such a joke player I've got no idea why anybody was so excited by him coming here and why anyone rated him at all. He is the Richard Villasanti of today

From memory, only me and you were the ones who weren't very impressed with the signing here. I blame Mal picking him as 18th man for QLD.

 

[Big Pete]

You're too good Bman.

I wanted to check the game out the other week till stuff got in the way. Your review did a really good job of painting a picture and it's easily the best post anyone has produced all week.

On Kennedy, outside of a few fans who were absolute Kennedy tragics, I think most were just hopeful. Before injuries struck, Kennedy showed plenty of promise, to the extent that at 22 there was a huge blue in the media over his representative status. I think he had something of a Luke Keary situation? Lived in Lismore till he was 10 before moving to Ipswich. Something along those lines...

anyways, when the signing was announced, the Broncos were desperate for forwards. The ones they had coming through weren't ready and there was a lot of dead weight at the club. Kennedy was seen as somebody who could use a change of scenery and would probably fair better being closer to home. Unfortunately as time went on, details of the deal emerged which suggested the Broncos had over-paid for his services. When that was hard enough to swallow, rumours of ASADA began and that was really the beginning of the end. I don't think the Broncos were serious about retaining him after that point and never seemed that interested in investing in him. He struggled to receive game time and was treated like an after thought. The rumour was the Broncos were going to let him go, irrespective of Wayne, but Bennett ended up making the same call which turned out to be right.

It was the right idea, but they chose the wrong horse and the difference between him and Blair highlights one area the Broncos have really improved.

Then again, some of the alternatives that were suggested hardly had successful years themselves.

 

[Broncoman]

1999 Preliminary Final, Parramatta Eels V Melbourne Storm, 18th September 1999, Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney

With the preliminary finals starting on Friday I decided to review a preliminary final from the past and I choose the 1999 encounter between Parramatta and Melbourne. Melbourne's fight through the finals continued as they came from behind for the 2nd week running to stun Parramatta and the league world with a tense 18-16 win putting them into the Grand Final in only their 2nd season.

What was happening before the game?

After a successful entry into premiership football in 1998 the Storm again finished 3rd place in 1999. Just like 1998 Melbourne lost their first finals game in 1999 falling to a Mundine inspired Dragons 34-10 at Olympic Park. The Storm kept their season alive with a desperate last gasp 24-22 win over the Bulldogs thanks to a runaway try by Matt Geyer with 10 on the clock. Their reward for this win was a showdown with Parramatta.

Parramatta continued their run of finals appearances stretching back to 1997 with a 2nd place finish in 1999 recording the best defense of the comp. In the first week of the finals they finished the Knights with a 30-16 win giving them a weeks rest and a place in the 3rd week of the finals.

1st half

Enjoying a wealth of possession and territory Parramatta began the game with a bang and lead 8-0 after 10 minutes. A soft penalty allowed Schifcofske to open the scoring with a simple goal despite missing an earlier one and a great effort from winger Daniel Wagon stretched their lead to 8-0. Stranded 20 meters from the line and isolated Wagon put in a perfectly weighted kick which he grounded inches from the dead ball line. Melbourne started to get their game working and Kimmorley got them on the board in the 22nd minute after he kicked for himself on the last he won the race for the ball and dived on it behind the sticks. Craig Smith converted and the score was 8-6. Both sides bombed tries in the coming minutes, first for Bai for the Storm in the 27th minute after the pass from Martin was forward and Parramatta bombed a golden opportunity 2 minutes later as Moran dropped the ball with the line clear in front of him. After Schifcofske landed his 3rd goal of the night the Eels stretched the margin to 10 after Vella and Jason Smith provided some great running and offloads to send Stuart Kelly flying over in the shadows of halftime. The try gave Parramatta a good lead of 16-6 at halftime and a big confidence boost behind them.

2nd half

Parramatta continued to build and forced an early drop out after the break but the Storm kept their composure and denied Parramatta points. Melbourne brought the margin back in the 54th minute after a kick from Kimmorley went back from Geyer and Bawden and Moule was there to score. After being reviewed by the video they awarded the try and Smith's conversion brought the margin to 4. Parramatta denied the Storm a chance in the corner a few minutes later and bombed a certain try as well as Jason Smith's last pass went miles forward. In the 62nd minute the Storm took the lead for the first time as Kimmorley again provided a kick that lead to Swain beating everyone to dive on the ball and score. It was again reviewed but they had no problems and Smith's conversion put the Storm ahead 18-16 with just under 20 to go. Craig Smith almost scored in the 70th minute but he put a foot into touch. Parramatta searched for a way to remain alive but they just didn't conjure anything and produced a sloppy finish which was fitting as they played a poor indisciplined 2nd half that cost them their season. Melbourne had once again come back from the dead in the finals and they had booked their place in the Grand Final in just their second season.

Match summary

A game of two halves. Parramatta dominated the first half and could've had more points on the board but poor execution cost them. Melbourne on the other hand just held their nerve and bustled the Eels into mistakes after the break and got 2 lucky bounces and a perfect record from Craig Smith got them over the line. Some good attacking footy but some very sloppy mistakes at the same time.

Broncoman Man of the Match; Brett Kimmorley

In a close game kicking like this kicking and decisions by the halfback will be some of the most important plays of the game and Kimmorley provided that. His kicking was very effective and he provided all the points for the Storm and also defended very well in the middle, i'm guessing he would've made around 20 tackles or something. I've got no idea who the official winner was but I would've given it to Kimmorley. Brett also won the Clive Churchill medal a week later but he shouldn't have but that is another story.

Melbourne Storm 18; Tries by Brett Kimmorley, Aaron Moule and Richard Swain, 3 goals by Craig Smith Beat Parramatta Eels 16; Tries by Stuart Kelly and Daniel Wagon, 4 goals by Clinton Schifcofske

Notes

- You can't help but admire the Storm at how they became so successful so early. They threw players into a foreign state which had almost no history in Rugby League and yet they pulled of one of the gutsiest premiership wins ever in just their 2nd season. Their effort to come back here was great but they pulled of an even greater comeback in the Grand Final.

- A young Nathan Hindmarsh was very impressive. He was working his arse of in defense, running hard and offloading the ball when he got the chance to. Hindmarsh is one of my favorite players off all time so I found it good to see him doing well here as a young man.

- Glenn Lazarus showed his champion qualities as he took charge and lead the way after being outrun by the young Parramatta forwards in the first half, the longer the game went on the better he got. He capped of his career a week later with a premiership title, deserving finish to possibly the best front rower Australia has produced.

- Parramatta fielded some very good teams in the late 90's and early 2000's but they always choked at the final hurdle. From 1997 to 2003 the club always made the finals and from 1998 to 2000 they made the preliminary final, 2001 they dominated the whole season but fucked it all up in the big one and in 2002 and 2003 they were knocked out in the first week. In 1998 it was the Carige stuff ups and in this one it was the whole teams fault, they blew good leads in 2 straight years.

- On a side note this was probably Cronulla's best chance to win a premiership, In 1999 Cronulla set the pace on the back of the magic from David Peachey who won the Dally M that year they won the minor premiership (their 2nd in history). They flogged the Broncos 42-20 in the first week of the finals and on the back of form, confidence and on the back of 2 wins against the Dragons and a win against Melbourne they would've really liked their chances but after taking an 8-0 lead at the break in their preliminary final the Dragons caught some fire on the back of Mundine and that was it.

Melbourne Storm

1: Robbie Ross
2: Craig Smith
3: Aaron Moule
4: Tony Martin
5: Marcus Bai
6: Matt Geyer
7: Brett Kimmorley
8: Glenn Lazarus
9: Richard Swain
10: Rodney Howe
11: Paul Marquet
12: Stephen Kearney
13: Tawera Nikau

14: Matt Rua
15; Ben Roarty
16: Russell Bawden
17: Danny Williams

Coach: Chris Anderson

Parramatta Eels

1: Clinton Schifcofske
2: Daniel Wagon
3: David Kidwell
4: Stuart Kelly
17: Luke Burt
6: Jim Dymock
7: David Penna
8: Dean Pay
9: Dean Schifilliti
10: Michael Vella
11: Nathan Hindmarsh
12: Jarrod McCracken
13: Jason Smith

14: Dennis Moran
15: Mark Tookey
16: Nathan Cayless
18: David Vaealiki

Coach: Brian Smith

 

[GCBRONCO]

Haven't done a match review yet but I found this, one of our first ever pre 1988 official season!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujA7wva_H5M

 

[GCBRONCO]

Not sure who S Walters is(Steve was at the Raiders) or why Kerrod is named on the wing, a mistake?

 

[GCBRONCO]

Definitely Kerrod at hooker.

 

[Broncoman]

2006 Preliminary Final, Canterbury Bulldogs V Brisbane Broncos, September 22nd 2006, Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney

Down and out at halftime the Broncos inspired by Justin Hodges and Darren Lockyer conjure one of the greatest comebacks seen in finals footy to make it through to the Grand Final.

Road to the preliminary final

The Bulldogs rebounded from a dissapointing 2005 where they missed the finals a year after winning the premiership to finish 2nd in 2006 behind the imperious Storm who only lost 4 games and won the minor premiership by 8 points. They eliminated the Raiders 30-12 in the first week of the finals to get a week's rest and a preliminary final visit.

The Broncos on the other hand endured a roller coaster of a year. After a 36-4 flogging against North Queensland in Round 1 the Broncos came back but as usual fell into a slump after Origin and lost 5 straight games from round 18 to 23. They found form at the end of the year beating the Bulldogs, Eels and Warriors 30-0, 23-0 and 36-12 respectively to finish 3rd. The Dragons defeated Brisbane 20-4 in the first week of the finals but the Broncos kept their season alive with a 50-6 mauling of a injury plagued Knights to advance another week.

1st half

Both sides looked turned on from the start and threw the ball around in good conditions for footy. Shaun Berrigan opened the scoring in the 9th minute after Perry stood in a tackle and passed to Berrigan who went over. Lockyer converted and the score was 6-0. The Broncos lead was short lived as the Bulldogs hit back minutes later, Asotasi broke through the middle and passed to Dan Holdsworth who scored, El Masri continued his successful run of goal kicking with an easy conversion leveling the score. Brent Tate was denied a try because of an obstruction and then he overran the ball in his own half that gave the Bulldogs a chance which they took as Sherwin picked a loose ball from Mason and touched down between the posts. The Bulldogs were now on a roll and a goal from El Masri pushed the lead to 8 and the lead then became 14 as Utai powered over in the corner and El Masri converted from the sideline. Canterbury continued mounting pressure in the last 10 minutes before halftime but Hodges denied them with some desperate defensive plays. The Broncos were out on their feet and exhausted by Canterbury's intensity as the teams went to halftime with the Bulldogs ahead 20-6 with Sherwin calling the shots superbly.

2nd half

Bennett's move of Hodges to fullback proved to be the masterstroke as Hodges in the 44th minute started one of the greatest tries. He fielded a long kick from Sherwin on his goal line, he moved infield and powered up the field through the middle and 35 meters from his line he passed to Berrigan who ran for the corner and planted the ball spectacularly on his head in the tackle of Mason. Brisbane were boosted in confidence and Dane Carlaw brought the margin back to 2 after a Bulldogs mistake in their half. With 20 minutes left lead up work from Hannant, Lockyer and Tate sent 19 year old Darius Boyd over and the Broncos had turned a 14 point gap into a 2 point lead. The Bulldogs were completely lost and shot to pieces and the Broncos continued their stampede as Lockyer, Tate and Parker added tries in the final 20 minutes and with Lockyer icing a field goal the Broncos had remarkably won 37-20 and advanced into their 6th grand final.

Match summary

Very entertaining game that shows that finals footy doesn't need a softening up period there was none of that here. The Bulldogs just lost all confidence and momentum after halftime after dominating the first half and the Broncos got a sniff and a spray from Willie Mason that was enough for them to play the perfect half of footy and to silence the crowd. The Broncos completed 18/19 sets after halftime.

Broncoman man of the match; Justin Hodges

The commentators praised Lockyer who undoubtedly played a big role but I personally thought Hodges was my MOM. He was dangerous with the ball all night, he came up with some big plays defensively before halftime which stopped the Bulldogs lead from going to 20. He lifted the team with the amazing Berrigan try when it was needed most and he was almost unstoppable after being switched to fullback from Bennett. He was always there when his team needed him in dire straits and there is nothing more than you can ask for then that.

Brisbane Broncos 37; 2 tries by Shaun Berrigan, tries by Darius Boyd, Dane Carlaw, Darren Lockyer, Corey Parker and Brent Tate, goal by Lockyer and 3 goals by Parker and a field goal from Lockyer Beat Canterbury Bulldogs 20; Tries by Dan Holdsworth, Brent Sherwin and Matt Utai, 4 goals by Hazem El Masri

Notes

- Brent Sherwin was superb in the first half and it reminded me of what a talent he was. He had a great running and short kicking game that could tear teams to pieces as he was one of the Bulldogs go to men back then.

- The Bulldogs collapse has no direct villain. Brisbane just got a sniff, got some confidence back and they went on to demolish Canterbury after the break.

- Brisbane's comeback was the 3rd biggest in a finals match. 1st being the Eels V Knights 1997 (18 points) and 2nd being the Eels V Bulldogs 1998 (16 points). The Paul Carige game

- It turns out Hodges and Berrigan scored another try like that in 2006. In the round 24 game against Canterbury they did it there as well.

- Willie Mason gave the Broncos a complete spray as they went up the tunnel at hafltime. He bellowed "You're gone Broncos you've got nothing Brisbane". It pissed the guys off and they came back and made him eat his words.

- Lockyer was praised and seemed to get most of the credit. This is the only thing that bothers me about players like him as they get all the praise all the time when there are 16 other blokes who contributed as well. Same thing happened with Johns-Newcastle, Thurston-Cowboys, Hayne and Gallen-2014 NSW. Examples of the top of my head.

- Shane Perry did a very good job at halfback. He did everything asked of him.

Brisbane Broncos

5: Kharmichael Hunt
2: Darius Boyd
1: Justin Hodges
4: David Stagg
3: Brent Tate
6: Darren Lockyer (Captain)
7: Shane Perry
8: Shane Webcke
9: Shaun Berrigan
10: Petero Civoniceva
11: Sam Thiaday
12: Brad Thorn
13: Tonie Carroll

14: Corey Parker
15: Dane Carlaw
16: Ben Hannant
17: Casey McGuire

Coach: Wayne Bennett

Canterbury Bulldogs

1: Luke Patten
2: Hazem El Masri
3: Andrew Emelio
20: Ben Roberts
5: Matt Utai
6: Dan Holdsworth
7: Brent Sherwin
8: Mark O'Meley
9: Corey Huges
14: Roy Asotasi
11: Willie Mason
12: Andrew Ryan
13: Sonny Bill Williams

4: Reni Maitua
10: Nate Myles
15: Adam Perry
16: Chris Armit

Coach: Steve Folkes

 

[Big Pete]

Ah, what the hell.

Qualifying Final #1 2008 - Sydney Roosters (4th) vs Brisbane Broncos (5th)

Brisbane and Sydney ushered in the 2008 finals series with a bruising encounter that was eerily reminiscent of an Origin game.

Before the opening whistle...

Both teams entered the finals on the back of impressive victories where they kept their opponents try-less. It was just the tonic both teams needed after an indifferent month of Rugby League and set up a gripping encounter at the Sydney Football Stadium.

Unfortunately for the hosts, they would enter the game without star recruit Willie Mason, after scans revealed the State of Origin star tore his anterior cruciate ligament against the Dragons. Meanwhile, Brisbane were close to full-strength with Justin Hodges returning to the starting side after Bennett opted to select him on the bench against the Newcastle Knights.

First Half

It didn't take long for this game to get going. In the opening set, Sam Thaiday leveled Anthony Cherrington with a nice shot that signalled the style of the game early. Not to be outdone, Mark O'Meley replied with one of the shots of the season as he smashed Joel Clinton into next week. It was a huge hit, one that would result in a lengthy stint on the sideline these days but back in 2008 was fair game and Sydney had some early momentum.

Moments later, Braith Anasta catches the markers out with an incisive run before finding Sa in support to make a nice gain of 40m. The Broncos defence fails to recover in time and give up the penalty, gifting Sydney with a 2-0 lead. It didn't take Brisbane long to respond. On their first possession Nate Myles was penalised for a late hit on Wallace, and the Broncos opted to make it a 2 all game inside the opening 10 minutes.

Sydney continued to ramp up the defence and were richly rewarded in the 14th minute when Soliola raced up and picked a bullet pass from Lockyer. The legendary Queensland had designs of sending his outside men the length of the field, instead he found himself behind his own goal-posts. 8-2 Roosters.

The game ebbed and flowed until a controversial call by Tony Archer put the Roosters on the front foot. It appeared as if the Roosters defence had kicked the ball as Hodges was trying to play it. However, Archer ruled that Hodges had played it off the mark. A pedantic penalty, but one that wasn't foreign to the 2008 Broncos who were accused of using it as a legitimate tactic.

With all the field territory, the Roosters finally broke through after a well worked play that found Anthony Tupou cross untouched. Off the play the ball, Pearce fired out a pass to Braith Anasta who drew in Lockyer opening up a huge hole for Tupou to stroll through. The players were growing restless but on the scoreboard, the Roosters had a handy 14-2 lead.

Sydney were in the box seat until a string of poor defensive plays by #15 David Shillington got Brisbane back on the scoreboard. First was a soft ruck penalty when the Roosters defence seemed to be doing fine. Then to follow up, Shillington completely mis-read the play, tripped over and took his other defender out of play giving Wallace an easy passage to the try line. Broncos trail by 6 after 30.

That appeared to be the scoreline heading into half-time until Greg Eastwood gave away a dumb penalty for a late challenge on Mitchell Pearce. Roosters opted to take the 2, giving the Roosters a 16-8 lead heading into the sheds.

Second Half

Broncos came out firing and opened the second half with one of the best tries of 2008. The ball went through 12 sets of hands, before Lockyer found Kemp who read the situation perfectly, blitzing the Roosters defence for an inspirational try. 16-12 Roosters.

It didn't take too long for the Broncos to hit the lead. Michael Ennis with a huge play to earn a 40/20 for his team, giving Peter Wallace the opportunity to put David Stagg over down the left fringe. Was the pass forward? Probably by a metre, but the scoreboard reads 18-16 Broncos.

Both teams came close to scoring, before the guile of Darren Lockyer proved too much for the Roosters. Deep inside Rooster's territory, Lockyer had 3 compelling options down his right and picked the right one, sending trusty partner in crime TC through a yawning gap. Parker's conversion made it a 24-16 game for the Broncos.

From there, both teams had their chances to influence the scoreboard but mistakes at inopportune times allowed the Broncos to coast to an impressive 24-16 lead.

Wrap-Up

A close physical encounter that was ultimately decided by the experience of the Broncos. Both teams had as many chances as the other, but the Broncos converted more of theirs, while the Roosters lost their way and lacked creativity.

Notes

- I have a lot of fond memories of the Broncos, but forgot how inconsistent they could be. At times, they looked like a premiership winning side that could score points from any set position and make some crucial defensive plays. Then at other times, they'd turn the ball over cheaply and could look anemic with the football.

- The Roosters were a good side, that should have been great. There was a lot of talent on that roster, easily enough to qualify Top 3, yet they struggled for cohesion and didn't make the most of their strengths. A good example of this would be Anthony Tupou. I know he's remembered now as one of the most overrated players of yester-year, but he was causing the Broncos plenty of trouble down their right edge and yet the Roosters spent the majority of the second half on the other side of the field. It belied logic and highlighted the problems with hiring a legend as a coach. Freddy was a champion player of the game, I'd never say anything otherwise, but he didn't have the nous to get the most out of the Rooster's strengths and when he couldn't motivate them they fell into a heap.

- I'm struggling to understand why Brent Grose was selected over Amos Roberts. Was form an issue? Grose was a depth signing who at best could do a job. On the other hand, Roberts was a flier who could convert opportunities. Even Shaun Kenny-Dowall would have been a better option than Grose.

Stand-Outs
Broncos: Hodges, Wallace, Thaiday, Stagg, Kenny.
Roosters: Perrett, O'Meley, Tupou.

BRISBANE BRONCOS 24 (Wallace, Kemp, Stagg, Caroll tries; Parker 2/3, Ennis 2/2 goals) defeated SYDNEY ROOSTERS 16 (Soliola, Tupou tries; Fitzgibbon 4/4 goals)

Sydney Roosters
1. Anthony Minichiello 2. Brent Grose 3. Setaimata Sa 4. Iosia Soliola 5. Sam Perrett
6. Braith Anasta 7. Mitchell Pearce
8. Mark O'Meley 9. Riley Brown 10. Lopini Paea 11. Nate Myles 16. Anthony Cherrington 13. Craig Fitzgibbon
12. Anthony Tupou 14. Mickey Paea 15. David Shillington 17. James Aubusson

Brisbane Broncos
1. Karmichael Hunt 2. Darius Boyd 3. Joel Moon 4. Justin Hodges 5. Denan Kemp
6. Darren Lockyer 7. Peter Wallace
8. Ben Hannant 9. Michael Ennis 10. Joel Clinton 11. Corey Parker 12. Sam Thaiday 13. Tonie Caroll
14. David Stagg 15. Ashton Sims 16. Greg Eastwood 17. Nick Kenny

 

[Big Pete]

NSWRL 1992 Brisbane Broncos vs St George Dragons

For the longest time, I thought this game was a walkover for the Broncos. All the highlights suggest Alfie, Cann x 2 and Renouf made it a very comfortable afternoon. Then I caught the replay, and realised it took over half the game to reach that point and before then it was a real contest. Both teams had their opportunities, both teams made errors and ultimately it came down to one Dragons error before the floodgates opened. Even then, it was just a 15 minute window and had St George handled that period better, the Broncos may have had their afternoon spoiled. After all, the Dragons had beaten the Broncos earlier that year in a game where the Broncos were the better side for the majority of the contest.

However, it was the Broncos afternoon and they did it with style. They weren't afraid to play their style of footy and while it didn't come off for them, they came up with some strong defensive efforts to deny a number of St George opportunities.

One of my favourite things to do when watching old GFs is review the CC medal choice. Ultimately they went with Alf and I can't say I disagree. If you were going to select the most consistent, Lazarus would be an easy choice however it was really Allan Langer who scored the first two vital tries and really got the party started. When he went up a gear, so did the Broncos and it'd be tough to second guess the judges on that appointment.

Another thing I like to do is highlight an underrated performance. For instance, I thought both Sam Moa and Jake Friend had really underrated performances in the 2013 GF victory. In 1992, I'd give it to Mark Hohn. Unlike the other bench players, Mark made a fair impression on the game, coming into really solidify the work in the middle and at a time where the game was getting a little loose, I thought he really helped tighten things for the Broncos, both with and without the football. If I could compare him to any current Broncos player, it'd definitely be Dodds. Doesn't bend the line or doing anything too spectacular, but is a real player's player who makes sure every involvement counts.

 

[Broncoman]

It was all their for the taking for us in 1992, we dominated the year losing only 4 games and winning the minor premiership by 6 points. The 1991 grand finalists Canberra and Penrith had a salary cap crisis and we all know the tragedy which struck the 1992 Panthers. The Dragons clawed their way into the big one with 3-2 and 4-0 wins over Newcastle and Illawarra, and I even think the Steelers would've been a stronger challenge in the GF.

My view of that grand final is that the Dragons put up a good fight for the first 50 minutes but the class of the Broncos proved to much and they ran away with it in the last 30 minutes. Alfie was a deserving ccm winner, he lead the way, came up with a double and broke the spirit of the Dragons.

On a side note a good thing about the 1992 finals series was the appearances of Newcastle and Illawarra in the finals. The NSWRL embraced expansion in the late 80's and early 90's and too see 2 out of town teams win in their finals debuts against fancied opponents and for the trophy to go interstate was a very good thing for the game.

 

[Cult]

[MENTION=8536]Super Freak[/MENTION], are you able to upload a few older games to give me a bit of a fix until Sunday? I can only watch porn in spurts.

 

[Broncoman]

2011 Semi Final, Brisbane Broncos V St George Illawarra Dragons, September 17th 2011, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

In what turns out to be his last Broncos game Darren Lockyer lands a field goal in extra time sinking the Dragons in a classic finals game where the script couldn't have been written any better.

What was going on before the game?

Ignoring the Lockyer farewell parade the Broncos rebounded after missing the finals for the first time since 1991 in 2010 with a strong 2011 season where they finished 3rd behind Melbourne and Manly and were never lower than 6th after losing in Round 1 to North Queensland.

Brisbane's 40-10 demolition of the Warriors in week 1 of the finals put them against the St George Illawarra Dragons who had a topsy turvey year after the glory of 2010. The Dragons won 10 of their first 11 games then lost 8 of their next 11 games before wins against the Warriors and Penrith put them in 5th spot, they were beaten 21-12 by a form Tigers outfit sending them to Brisbane.

All the hype before the game was Bennett V Lockyer. 2 QLD icons were in a battle of the lasts with Bennett attempting to end Lockyer's first grade career and Lockyer attempting to finish Bennett's Dragons coaching tenure.

First half

The Broncos dominated the first half but could only post 1 try which came on the back of Lockyer as he timed his pass to perfection sending Ben Teo over in the 14th minute, Parker converted to add to the only points of the first half. Brisbane were getting through their sets and mounting pressure on the Dragons but the Dragons professionalism and wits in defence limited the Broncos to only the 1 try. The Broncos could of added another on the stroke of the 20th minute but Copley fumbled with only him and Boyd between the line. It was a quality battle as both sides were playing clean footy and getting to the end of their sets making for a good flow.

Second half

Probably lifted by a Bennett speech the Dragons turned up the intensity after the break and started to mount some attacking raids after being completely on the back foot defending in the first half. A penalty against Cuthbertson enabled Parker to land a goal from long range extending the lead to 8 points. Ben Hornby almost scored but Yow Yeh pushed the ball dead forcing a drop out which the Dragons took advantage off with Cuthbertson getting them on the board, Soward converted to bring the score to 8-6. This lifted the Dragons as they mounted another raid but couldn't come up with anything. Brisbane got some breathing space as Copley went over with 14 to go after good lead up work from Beale and Reed, Parker missed the goal leaving the score 12-6. Lockyer copped a knock from Beale as the fullback went for a kick but Lockyer got up and continued on. With 5 minutes to go the Dragons though they had the levelling score but the video ref correctly ruled that Hornby knocked the ball on in the process before Prior grounded the ball. With 3 minutes to go Cuthbertson stripped the ball on halfway giving the Dragons a last ditch chance which they took as Soward and Hornby sent Boyd steaming over to score and Soward's conversion sent the game into extra time.

It only took 90 seconds into extra time for the game to be decided as Lockyer put over a wobbly drop kick that scratched over from 27 meters out to send the crowd into raptures and the Broncos into the 3rd week of the finals.

Match Summary

Classic finals game. I remembered the game as one where the Broncos were in control for the majority of the contest but failed to put them away and it needed Lockyer to do it in extra time. I was only going of a 4 year old memory before watching the game. The game was a quality contest that was very keenly fought with very few mistakes, big defense, great tries and a big play to decide it. Anyone apart from a few disgruntled Dragons fans would've enjoyed it immensely.

Broncoman man of the match; Darren Lockyer

Bit cliched but I feel the Broncos wouldn't have won without Lockyer. He was always causing the Dragons problems with his running and passing and he showed some guts playing through pain in the end after coming of some friendly fire, his composure and leadership kept the Broncos well composed and his field goal decided a superb game.

Brisbane Broncos 13: Tries by Ben Teo and Dale Copley, 2 goals by Corey Parker and a field goal by Darren Lockyer
St George Illawarra Dragons 12: Tries by Adam Cuthbertson and Darius Boyd, 2 goals by Jamie Soward

Notes

- Brett Morris showed some guts just like Lockyer playing on with a knee injury, he continued to be a thorn in our side and he relieved pressure for them before going of and going to the bench on crutches. Hodges unnecessarily flopped on him when he got the injury which I thought was ordinary from Hodges.

- Adam Cuthbertson played a big role in the Dragons comeback which was surprising as I thought Soward was the one who did it. He scored the try to get them on the board and stripped the ball which gave them their last chance.

- Hornby got away with blocking so many times it ins't funny but he was penalised a few times for it at least

- Beale cops hate because of the Lockyer injury but he wasn't a villian at all, he was going for the ball and was one of our best players on the night actually. The hit to Lockyer is just one of those things that happens in Rugby League and is part of the game.

- Beau Scott was playing an enforcer roll on Peter Wallace

- The Nightingale pants around the ankles brought the crowd to life and is actually one of my favourite bizarre incidents watching sport

- It was great at the time to see Lockyer create another piece of magic, his field goal at the end is going to be remembered as one of the biggest moments of this decade in Rugby League but Lockyer did it without all sorts of praise behind him. I personally found his last season so irritating to sit through. The amount of farewells and praise he got everytime he touched the ball was just embarrassing and got annoying very quickly.

Brisbane Broncos

1: Gerard Beale
2: Dale Copley
3: Jack Reed
4: Justin Hodges
5: Jharal Yow Yeh
6: Darren Lockyer (Captain)
7: Peter Wallace
8: Josh McGuire
9: Andrew McCullogh
10: Ben Hannant
11: Alex Glenn
12: Ben Teo
13: Corey Parker

14: Matt Gillett
15: Ben Hunt
16: Scott Anderson
17: David Hala

Coach: Anthony Griffin

St George Illawarra Dragons

1: Darius Boyd
2: Brett Morris
3: Mark Gasnier
4: Matt Cooper
5: Jason Nightingale
6: Jamie Soward
7: Ben Hornby
8: Dan Hunt
18: Mitch Rein
10: Michael Weyman
11: Beau Scott
17: Trent Merrin
12: Ben Creagh

13: Dean Young
14: Jon Green
15: Matt Prior
16: Adam Cuthbertson

Coach: Wayne Bennett

 

[Big Pete]

NRL 2005 Round 3
New Zealand Warriors vs North Queensland Cowboys

I've been meaning to watch this match for awhile. My plan with that JT thread was to go back and watch through a bunch of old games to see how his game has evolved over time. Fortunately, his entire career is available online if you know where to look so it's easy to chart his carer. Now this may seem like an obscure game to watch. I don't think I've ever seen anybody talk about it, but this was the first game JT polled 3 Dally M votes, so on the surface, a break-out game.

My memory of JT's 2005 is really hazy. Here's a player who forced his way into Origin, won the Dally M and helped his side make their first grand final yet I don't remember him as anything more than a good link man. In my mind, the Cowboys were greater than the sum of their parts, with Bowen being the real point of difference. However, time changes a lot of things and I wasn't as into Rugby League as I am now.

The game itself was crazy. It wasn't necessarily a quality game, but like a lot of Raiders games in 2015, there was a lot of 'do or die' Rugby League which made the game gripping. It started off the Warriors being their own worst enemy. Penalty after penalty after penalty allowed the Cowboys to establish a 14-0 lead before the Warriors clawed their way back into make it 14-10 in the shadows of half-time. Unfortunately right as the half-time siren sounded, rookie fullback Jerome Ropati in returning the ball coughed up the pill (got to throw some 'Costo' dialogue in there), allowing Jensen to stroll over for a 20-10 HT lead.

Warriors fought their way back and with 12 to go held a 22-20 lead over the Cowboys. With their backs against the wall, the Cowboys needed a huge play to change the course of the game. Up steps JT, with the play of the game. Trapped inside his own 40 on the last, JT spots Ropati standing deep and opts for the chip and chase. The ball bounces perfectly, allowing him to regather and get the ball in support. The ball goes from one side of the field to the other as JT gets the ball for a second time before sending Jensen over for what had to be one of the best tries of 2005. Then at the death, with very little time remaining, JT gets to the loose ball, finds Bowen who breaks through some loose defence to give the Cowboys a 32-22 victory.

Harvey Norman Player Highlights: Johnathan Thurston - I reckon if you compiled a 30 second highlights package, you basically would have captured JT's entire performance. It was evident JT was still trying to figure out his role in the side and wasn't quite confident to take charge and get this team moving forward. Even in terms of kicking, he often deferred to Bowen, Sheppard and Payne. Outside of being relatively quiet, he came up with some huge plays. The opening try came off a break he helped set up and he came up with two try-saving tackles to save the day for the visitors.

Did he deserve the 3 points? It depends on your view of quality v quantity. JT came up with the biggest plays of the game, with the clutch chip and chase being the highlight but for the most part, he was really quiet. In a physical contest where the Warriors tried to bash and barge their way to victory with Paleaaesina and Price, I thought Webb and Rauhihi did a great job of taking them on. In fact, Webb managed to outplay Pricey and for mine was the stand out in this contest. Most of his runs provided the Cowboys with a real roll through in the middle, he came up with about 3 line-breaks and had a strong performance overall.

In a nut-shell: A bash and barge contest with plenty of highlights and lowlights. Despite trying to figure his way into the side, JT comes up with a huge play and saves the day for the Cowboys.

Warriors
6. Jerome Ropati 2. Todd Byrne 17. Sione Faumuina 4. Clinton Toopi 5. Francis Meli
25. Lance Hohaia 7. Stacey Jones
8. Iafeta Paleaaesina 9. Nathan Fien 10. Steve Price 11. Awen Guttenbiel 12. Wairangi Koopu 13. Monty Betham
14. Tevita Latu 15. Karl Temata* 16. Louis Anderson 24. Manu Vatuvei

Cowboys
1. Matt Bowen 2. Ty Williams 3. Josh Hannay 4. Paul Bowman 5. Matt Sing
6. Johnathan Thurston 7. Chris Sheppard
8. Paul Rauhihi 9. Aaron Payne 10. Carl Webb 11. Steve Southern 12. Justin Smith 13. Luke O'Donnell
14. Rod Jensen 15. Leigh McWilliams 16. Michael Luck 17. Shane Tronc

 

[Broncoman]

1996 ARL Grand Final, Manly Sea Eagles V St George Dragons, Sydney Football Stadium Sydney, 29th September 1996

Manly cap of their 50th season in the league with their 6 premiership victory defeating a gallant St George team healing the scars of the disappointment of the previous year's Grand Final.

Road to the Grand Final

On the back of the best defensive record since the beginning of limited tackle football Manly dominated the 1996 season winning back to back minor premierships and conceding only 191 points and 34 tries in 25 matches. Wins in the finals against the resurgent Sydney City Roosters and Cronulla Sharks booked them a place in the Grand Final.

St George on the other hand experienced a roller coaster of a season that would put any team of any era in hell. Destroyed by the Super League crisis which saw Gorden Tallis sit out the year and saw the walkout of many players at the club, the Dragons floundered to 13th after 14 rounds but a late charge saw them win 8 of their last 9 games to qualify for the finals in 7th spot. They continued they dream charge defeating Canberra, Sydney City and Norths to make their first grand final since 1993.

First half

Manly came out firing and a penalty enabled coupled with a knock on from Dragon forward Campion gave them all the territory early. It paid off as Toovey's grubber kick to the left corner was dived on by Inness and Ridge's conversion from touch gave them an early lead. The Dragons gave themselves a chance soon after but Manly's hustling defence denied them. Manly were looking good in the first 20 minutes completing their sets, making ground with the ball and Ridge's kicking game was on point. A penalty from a high tackle in front of the posts extended the Manly lead to 8-0 just before the 20th minute. The Dragons got on the board just before the break learning from their previous mistake of not taking the 2 points then controversy boiled over. From the kick off Ridge went short and regathered the ball before being dived on by Brown, referee David Manson astoundingly allowed Ridge to play on giving him an extra 30 meters to run. On the next play Tierney and Kosef linked up and sent Steve Menzies over under the posts breaking the Dragons resolve thanks to one of the most controversial grand final moments. Manly went to halftime ahead 14-2 with boos erupting from the Dragon army.

2nd half

Manly continued to pile on the pressure as the Dragons couldn't get their hands on the ball and hung in for 13 minutes. Ridge unsuccesfuly attempted field goals but to no avail. Manly at last put the score out to 20 after Bartrim's pass to nobody was taken by Gartner, in the ensuring set Sedaris and Hill sent Moore over to score in the corner and with Inness converting Manly looked to have the game sewed up. The Dragons refused to give in and forced repeat sets down the other end but were only able to score 1 try through winger Nick Zisti which gave them hope for the last 20 minutes but Manly held firm in the last quarter of the game playing it safe and rubbing the Dragons out of the game. The score remained unchanged in the last 20 minutes and the Sea Eagles had won their 7th premiership with a deserved 20-8 win.

Match summary

Manly went into the game as heavy favourites and they didn't disappoint as they were just far to strong for the Dragons across the park and didn't look like losing at any time of the game. Not really a classic grand final but not the worst as there was some good attack and strong defence on offer but as a contest it wasn't that great as Manly proved to much of a challenge for the Dragons and were determined not to let another fairy tale happen at their expense.

Manly Sea Eagles 20: Tries by Craig Innes, Steve Menzies and Danny Moore, 3 goals by Matt Ridge and a goal by Innes

St George 8: Try by Nick Zisti and 2 goals by Wayne Bartrim

Notes

- Pretty hard to believe this St George team made the Grand Final on paper only 6 of their 17 players in this grand final were still playing by the turn of the millennium and only 7 of their players remained from the team that lost grand finals to Brisbane in 1992 and 1993. Either way they did amazingly well to battle their way to the Grand Final and if they managed to pull this one off it would probably be remembered as one of the greatest premiership wins ever achieved.

- Did the Ridge-Brown clanger by Manson rob the Dragons My answer is no. It would've battered their confidence and it did extent Manly's lead to 12 right on the strike of halftime but I didn't lose the game for them. Manly went on with the job after the break and didn't give the Dragons a sniff of victory and lead by at least 8 points for the majority of the game. It was still a complete shocker and Manson was attacked long and hard for it afterwards. One of the reasons why I never trust referees.

- Manly's record winning defense was on show, The Dragons forced plenty of goal line drop outs and had plenty of chances to get back into the game but Manly were up to it and didn't let them score until the margin was out to 18.

- I've heard some people say Daniel Gartner is one of the best players not to play Origin (he was picked for Australia after this game) I can see their point. I've seen some games from him around this time and he always looks like breaking the line and is putting in a good workrate as well he made at least 2 linebreaks in this game and picked up the loose ball that lead to the Moore try.

Geoff Toovey won the Clive Churchill medal, should he have won it?

Yes I felt he was a fair winner. Toovey laid on the first try of the game and he was a handful throughout. His defensive game was on point and he backed up his teammates very well and was the leader of the team. He was also everywhere and didn't drop of at any time of the game, he was a fair winner of the medal but I wouldn't have been against Gartner, Ridge, Sedaris or the Beaver getting it.

Manly Sea Eagles

1: Matthew Ridge
2: Danny Moore
3: Craig Innes
4: Terry Hill
5: John Hopoate
13: Nik Kosef
7: Geoff Toovey (Captain)
17: David Gillespie
9: Jim Serdaris
10: Mark Carroll
11: Steve Menzies
12: Daniel Gartner
8: Owen Cunningham

6: Cliff Lyons
14: Neil Tierney
16: Des Hasler
19: Craig Hancock

Coach: Bob Fulton

St George Dragons

1: Dean Raper
2: Nick Zisti
3: Mark Coyne
5: Adrian Brunker
4: Mark Bell
6: Anthony Mundine
7: Noel Goldthorpe
8: Troy Stone
9: Jeff Hardy
10: Luke Felsch
19: Kevin Campion
12: Scott Gourley
13: Wayne Bartim

11: David Barnhill
14: Lance Thompson
15: Colin Ward
16: Nathan Brown

Coach: David Waite

 

[Big Pete]

Round 23 2010
Brisbane Broncos vs Parramatta Eels

7th vs 10th in a game that would have finals repercussions.

Brisbane went into the game without star five-eighth and captain Darren Lockyer and his absence was obvious right away. Brisbane had great field position early but were guilty of pushing passes and coming up with rushed options which let the Eels off the hook. Ultimately it was the Eels who scored first points through a freak try to Jarryd Hayne where he was able to juggle a cross-field kick, regather and plant it to open the scoring. 6-0 Parra after 7.

Parra were all over Brisbane at this point, but a wayward pass from McCullough tripped everybody up allowing Glenn to race up field. On the next place, Brisbane shift it right to Yow Yeh who puts an in and away on Inu to score a nice try. A soft effort from Inu, but a strong finish from Yow Yeh all the same - 6-4 Eels after 15 minutes.

It appeared the scores would remain that way heading into half-time. Both teams had their opportunities but couldn't convert them. Brisbane found a lot of success with the cross-field kick to Folau's corner but couldn't score off any of those plays, while Mateo was causing Sam Thaiday all sorts of problems down his left fringe. He helped create a number of opportunities but the last pass would usually find the hands of the Broncos, killing whatever chance they had created for themselves. Ultimately, they had to rely on a controversial call from Tony Archer to score first points. In an attempt to defuse a bomb, it appeared as if Josh Hoffman was taken off the ball illegally by the Eels chaser. Archer called play on, which ultimately led to Hayne finding Inu with a great pass and the Eels went into the break with a 12-4 lead.

2 minutes into the second half and it was the Broncos who were first on the board. A cheap turnover by Kris Keating gave Wallace an opportunity to find Te'o with a bullet pass who turned it back on the inside for Hoffman to dive over. That made it 12-10 Parra with plenty of time remaining.

Brisbane appeared to be gaining the ascedency when all of a sudden they produced their worst set of six of the contest. Peter Wallace was forced to kick under all sorts of pressure, which saw the ball sail well clear of the sideline giving Parra easy field position. They made the most of it, with Kris Keating scoring an incredibly soft 40m try where he raced pass Corey Norman to open up a sizeable lead 18-10 after 52 minutes.

The Eels looked well in control until halfback Jeff Robson put in a dinky little chip kick for nobody. It gave Brisbane good field position, which they were able to capitilise on with a good team try to Ben Te'o. Off a good play the ball from Norman, Hoffman found Parker, who turned it back in-field for Wallace, who turned it back to Tronc, Tronc drew in 3 before getting an offload to McCullough who found Parker on the wrap around. After accepting the pass, Parker was able to put Wallace through a gap before Pete found Te'o in the centres to score a nice try that brought Brisbane back into the contest 18-14 after 63 minutes.

At the 70th minute, Brisbane were playing hot potato football when Josh McGuire of all players found himself into some space down the left hand touchline. He tried to link up with his inside support in Peter Wallace but Wallace fell over before he could retrive the pass. Replays would show that Wallace was taken out without the ball but referee Tony Archer called play on. In the ensuing set, Mateo skipped around field before finding Burt who put a chip in for himself to all but wrap the game up for the Eels, 24-14 with 8 minutes to play.

Brisbane had one last roll of the dice with Folau throwing a miracle ball which put Thaiday in under the posts, but Slammin' Sam had the ball raked out as he dove over the line. In the final stages, Wallace tried to grubber it for himself only for the ball to ricochet and allow debutant Anthony Mitchell to score adjacent from the posts. FT Eels 30-Broncos 14.

Misc Thoughts

- A really frustrating loss. Even without Lockyer, Brisbane should have won this game but they got caught up playing Parramatta football. Silly offloads, poor options and some very feeble defence. I could forgive some of it given they were without Lockyer so naturally timing on certain plays would be off but there were sets where nobody took any ownership and there was a clear lack of communication or planning.

- I remember being OK with Tronc's signing at the time as desperate times called for desperate measures but geez he was garbage. Second phase aside, he was a liability out there and should have been a benchy only. I have no idea what happened to Sims around this time but even he would have been a better pick. Sadly, this was the year where Broncos best front row forward was Nick Kenny.

- Gould was laying into Hayne big time. In fairness to Jarryd, he pulled off some big plays but he was invisible and apparently there were Eels sets where he was 20m behind the play for no good reason. When people point out Hayne's role in the Eels being bad, it's periods like this I believe they're referring to.

- In general 2010 fascinates me. I remember this was the year where I began taking a really analytical approach to the game but a lot of my prejudices shaped the narrative for me. As a result, I don't really remember anything about a lot of teams. All I remember is that it was the Dragons year and everyone else was just playing for second. I wouldn't mind going back and seeing what was happening with teams like Penrith and Wests.