Brisbane Broncos

[Druzik]

All news related to Brisbane here.

[Druzik]

www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,25184225-5001023,00.html

Israel Folau scores on Brisbane debut as Broncos beat Cowboys
By Steve Ricketts
March 13, 2009 12:00am

BRONCOS 19 COWBOYS 18

ROOKIE Broncos wingers Anthony Winterstein and Jharal Yow Yeh repaid the faith of new coach Ivan Henjak by scoring a try each in the Broncos' gripping win over the North Queensland Cowboys at Suncorp Stadium last night.

It took a 30m field goal by halfback Peter Wallace in the 77th minute to break an 18-18 deadlock to give the NRL a dream start to the premiership after Melbourne won a golden-point extra-time game against St George Illawarra in Melbourne earlier in the night.

Winterstein, 20, and Yow Yeh, 19, showed maturity beyond their years to score their tries at crucial stages, Winterstein in the 46th minute and Yow Yeh in the 64th minute to make it 18-18.

The Johnathan Thurston-Matt Bowen show is back in town as well and North Queensland fans appear set for a year of box office excitement after the pair caused the Broncos so many headaches in front of an enthralled crowd of 45,002.

Thurston and Bowen were a constant thorn in the Broncos' side with fullback Bowen making it look ridiculously easy at times, the highlight a try from the ever menacing boot of his champion halfback to give the Cowboys an 18-14 lead in the 57th minute.

Bowen played only six games last year before a knee injury sidelined him and effectively put paid to the Cowboys' premiership hopes given their other injury woes. He still managed to score three tries in those six games playing on one leg and is destined to snare plenty this year.

Broncos centre Steve Michaels had a chance to win the match for his side in the 72nd minute but failed to control the ball after chasing down a Corey Parker grubber kick,

Brisbane led 10-6 at halftime and grabbed an eight-point advantage five minutes after the resumption when rookie winger Winterstein scored in the left corner from a perfectly placed Karmichael Hunt grubber kick after Cowboys winger Shannon Hegarty had been "monstered" into touch by Israel Folau who scored the first try of the night in his Broncos debut.

BRISBANE 19 (I Folau C Parker A Winterstein J Yow Yeh tries C Parker goal P Wallace field goal) bt NORTH QUEENSLAND 18 (M Bowen W Tonga C Webb tries J Thurston 3 goals) at Suncorp Stadium. Referee: T De Las Heras, Jared Maxwell

[England 3 Lions]

I was at this match. The Cowboys lost it in the last 15 minutes by consistently turning the ball over in their own territory and giving away silly penalties.

[Druzik]

got any photos?

Unfortunately none of my p2p streaming seems to work for these games and the nrl.com online radio also isnt up and running, just have a live score board... ferking frustrating...

[Druzik]

www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/sport/nrl/story/0,26799,25218459-5006066,00.html

Brisbane Broncos beat Melbourne Storm in NRL Round Two match
By Steve Ricketts | March 20, 2009 12:00am

BRISBANE BRONCOS 16 MELBOURNE STORM 14

BRONCOS coach Ivan Henjak last night hailed the courage of his side after they withstood a second-half Melbourne hurricane to secure a hard-fought 16-14 win at Suncorp Stadium.
While Melbourne bemoaned a pivotal Peter Wallace try which the Storm claimed included a blatant knock-on in the lead-up, Henjak celebrated the coming of age of his new-look team.

After shooting to a 16-8 lead midway through the second half, the Broncos bunkered down and withstood a typical Melbourne surge.

It was a pretty emotional end to the game as is often the case when we play Melbourne," Henjak said. "But as I told the players I was really proud of them the way they held on under a lot of pressure in the second half.

Related LinksBroncos v Storm: Knock-on that even two refs missed
Gallery: Great photos of NRL Round Two action
"They just kept turning up for each other and that is a real positive for us.

"It is the kind of character that you can build a campaign around. If we can fix a few little things up with our execution in attack and our patience and maintain that sort of defence it gives us a chance any way."

Henjak had insisted last night had nothing to do with revenge - but try telling that to the 36,647 fans at Suncorp Stadium.

Where six months ago they had sat in stunned silence as Greg Inglis crossed in the dying minutes to seal a 16-14 elimination semi-final win and end Brisbane's season.

Brisbane skipper Darren Lockyer became the very public face of his side's semi-final loss and admitted last night he had been concerned a similar result could be on the cards as Melbourne whittled away at the Broncos 16-8 advantage.

"I thought if we could've scored another try we would be right, but instead they scored and I started to think, "oh no not again'," he said.

In a major boost for the Broncos, star centre Justin Hodges delivered a powerful 80-minute performance in his comeback from shoulder surgery.

Melbourne scored a soft try through Billy Slater in the second minute to lead 6-0. For the rest of the half Brisbane dominated possession and territory but came up with just two tries, the first an Israel Folau special and the next to centre Steve Michaels to lead 10-8.

Wallace's controversial try made it 16-8, but Melbourne reduced the margin to two points when Kevin Proctor scored between the posts with 15 minutes remaining to set up another nail-biting finish.

There were also plenty of anxious moments for Brisbane as the clock ticked down, none more so than an attacking raid in the 77th minute which saw Melbourne fullback Billy Slater knock-on with the line at his mercy.

New South Wales winger Anthony Quinn was placed on report for a forearm to the head of Brisbane's Sam Thaiday in the 15th minute.

BRISBANE 16 (I Folau, S Michaels, P Wallace tries, C Parker 2 goals) MELBOURNE 14 (K Proctor, B Slater tries, C Smith 3 goals). Referees: Ben Cummins, Tony De Las Heras.