Storm cause havoc for battling Broncs
BRONCOS coach Wayne Bennett has blasted his team’s second-half performance against the Storm, labelling it the most disappointing 40 minutes he has seen from his side this year.
Brisbane let go a 12-8 halftime lead to fall 32-16 to Craig Bellamy’s team, with Bennett claiming they lost all intensity in the final stanza.
The Storm put in a stunning second-half performance, but the Broncos were also cruelled by a number of questionable decisions.
However, Bennett refused to place any blame on the referees, instead slamming his side’s effort.
“The second half the Broncos didn’t come out,” he said.
“We were completely outplayed in the second half.
“It’s the most disappointing half of football I’ve seen.
“Our intensity dropped a lot, we weren’t getting off the defensive line really well, our tackles weren’t hitting and sticking, we weren’t running as hard.
“Everything ... we stopped doing.
“I don’t know what I said at halftime to put them in that place.”
While Bennett did not want to talk about the referees, the Broncos did face a number of questionable decisions in the second half.
The most hurtful call to Brisbane’s campaign came just nine minutes out from fulltime when Broncos defenders pushed towering winger Suliasi Vunivalu into touch.
Lead referee Ben Cummins ruled however that it was a second effort, but a similar tackle on Darius Boyd from Josh Addo-Carr earlier in the match went without a penalty.
Brisbane skipper Boyd could be seen arguing with Cummins, as the away side had just scored through Jordan Kahu and had all the momentum to chase down Melbourne’s 20-16 lead.
But the penalty went against the Broncos and the Storm worked their way downfield for Vunivalu to score in the corner.
The decision followed two more controversial secondhalf calls against the Broncos, including Corey Oates getting penalised for a loose carry when the ball was clearly stripped in the 49th minute.
Hooker Andrew McCullough was then deemed to have knocked on in the playthe-ball five minutes later, in another questionable ruling.
But even with the tough calls, Brisbane proved to be their own worst enemy after Melbourne’s stand-in fullback Jahrome Hughes extended their lead in the dying minutes to hand his side the final 32-16 victory.
Meanwhile, the Broncos will sweat on judiciary results today after young forward Tevita Pangai Jr was placed on report for dangerous conduct against Nelson Asofa-Solomona in the 74th minute.
Pangai Jr came into a tackle on the giant Melbourne forward and appeared to make contact with the head.
OUR INTENSITY DROPPED A LOT, WE WEREN’T GETTING OFF THE DEFENSIVE LINE REALLY WELL, OUR TACKLES WEREN’T HITTING AND STICKING, WE WEREN’T RUNNING AS HARD BRONCOS HEAD COACH WAYNE BENNETT