COWBOYS GO DOWN IN SUNCORP THRILLER
LAST GASP WINNER DENIED B Y THE UPRIGHT
ONLY the goalposts could deny the Cowboys a thrilling victory over the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium last night.
Cowboys backrower Scott Bolton collected an inside pass from Johnathan Thurston and charged through the Broncos defence, bound for a certain try with his team trailing by four points inside the final two minutes, but the Innisfail workhorse was stopped in his tracks by the upright.
THE Brisbane Broncos were bagged from pillar to post all week. Ironically, it was a post which secured them a dramatic 24- 20 win over North Queensland.
The Broncos served their critics a big piece of humble pie after they finished a week of criticism with a stirring victory at Suncorp Stadium last night.
It was the Broncos pack and livewire five- eighth Anthony Milford who led the way in the upset in front of over 46,000 fans.
The brave Broncos deserved to win, but the football gods smiled on the hosts. Cowboys prop Scott Bolton looked set to crash over off a Johnathan Thurston inside ball with 90 seconds left, but was denied after crashing into the goalpost.
Thurston set up all three of the Cowboys’ tries in possibly his final game in Brisbane, but the Broncos held on to open their 2018 account.
“It was a typical Cowboys-Broncos game, it had everything. I thought the start of the game didn’t do us any favours, we probably thought how easy’s this?” Cowboys coach Paul Green said.
“What can happen is mentally a team can take the pedal off the gas and think this is going to be easy.
“We leaked some cheap points and it gave them confidence.
“You can’t blame him ( Bolton) for the loss, we shouldn’t have been in that position.”
Milford was brilliant in the back end of the first half. After running just four time in last week’s meek 34- 12 loss to the Dragons, he took the line on seven time in the first 40 minutes alone.
North Queensland missed 17 tackles to Brisbane’s four in the first half, and were made to pay.
The match looked like it would go to script when the Cowboys dominated possession and territory in the first 15 minutes to build an 8- 0, thanks to prop Jordan McLean’s first try for his new team.
The Cowboys looked set to lay another try on a tiring-Broncos after forcing a drop out, but winger Jamayne Isaako’s short kick was plucked out of the air by Jordan Kahu.
Kahu would soon leave the field with a suspected broken jaw, but the play wrested back momentum for Brisbane.
They scored the next three tries of the game through Tevita Pangai, Tom Opacic and Alex Glenn to take an 18- 8 lead at halftime.
Early in the second half Oates nearly put the result to bed, but the video referee ruled he had stepped out into touch before planting the ball in the left corner.
On the hour mark a piece of Johnathan Thurston brilliance got the Cowboys back into the game. The halfback threw a superb short ball to back rower Gavin Cooper close to the line, who strolled over to reduce the gap to 18- 14.
A James Roberts break led to a Broncos try to Kodi Nikorima, but after Thurston set up a try to Jake Granville the Broncos led 24- 20 with eight minutes left.
An unlikely hero, the Suncorp Stadium goalpost, did the rest.