BRONCOS SNATCH VICTORY
SEASON SINKS IN CONTROVERSIAL DERBY ENDING
Cowboys captain Michael Morgan in action against the Broncos at 1300SMILES Stadium last night. The Cowboys were leading until the final minutes when a questionable try by the Broncos sealed their victory. Fans booed the referees off the field.
A FORWARD pass on the siren missed by the referees has spelt the end of the Cowboys season as the Broncos escaped 1300SMILES Stadium with victory in the Queensland Derby.
Brisbane’s makeshift halfback Jake Turpin dived across the line in the final minute to steal a 18-14 victory from the home side but it was a forward pass in the lead up play that caught the ire of the 17,530 fans in attendance.
The referees were booed off the field after the conclusion of the clash, one of the worst Queensland Derbies of the past decade.
In a showing of their respective places on the ladder, both sides struggled to gain an upper hand throughout the game.
Poor handling and bad reads in defence cost both sides.
There were 26 errors across the 80 minutes shared evenly between the two sides while the Cowboys finished the night with 31 missed tackles to the Broncos five.
North Queensland struggled to contain the Broncos second phase efforts in the first half with the offloads of Tevita Pangai Jr. causing headaches for the edge defenders.
It would be Pangai Jr. who created the first scoring opportunity of the match for the Broncos, sending winger Jamayne Isaako storming down the right touchline.
Isaako palmed his way past opposite number Gideon Gela-Mosby before drawing in Cowboys fullback Scott Drinkwater to open a path to the line for his own No. 1 Anthony Milford.
Brisbane would continue to press their ascendancy down the Cowboys end, with 13 tackles inside the opposition 20 metre zone, but failed to convert the pressure with their loose handling.
Andrew Mccullough made a rare break up the middle of the field selling Josh Mcguire with a dummy pass. Mccullough hit open air in the backfield and found support through Tully boy Thomas Flegler. But a bone crunching cover tackle from Gela-mosby would save the Cowboys from falling further behind on the scoreboard.
Despite being on the wrong side of nearly every statistic in the opening half, the home side refused to die wondering and they would draw back level with the Broncos through the most unlikely of ways.
Shane Wright scored his first try in the NRL to get the Cowboys back level in the shadows of half time.
The two sides headed to the sheds locked up, but not before an altercation almost erupted between Josh Mcguire and
Pangai Jr.
The match would continue at the same meandering pace through the early stages of the second half.
It would take a piece of individual brilliance from Jake Clifford to flick the switch on the dour derby midway through the second half.
It was heads up football from the skilful youngster as he spotted a gap behind the defensive line, grubbering through before regathering to put the Cowboys ahead.
It set the Queensland Derby alight at 1300SMILES Stadium, but it would not be the death knell for the Broncos.
Gela-mosby had a horror night under the high ball and it would continue in the second half, with a drop at the back giving the Broncos an opportunity to get back into the game.
Broncos’ hard man David Fifita would not need a second invitation, bulldozing his way over Josh Mcguire, before carrying two defenders to the tryline. A penalty goal in front gave the Cowboys the lead late in the clash before Turpin’s try sealed the win for the visitors.