BRISBANE BRONCOS 46 WESTS TIGERS 24
IAN HOWE, Suncorp Stadium, Saturday
WESTS TIGERS went into this game without their suspended captain Jarome Luai, and as a result they fielded the youngest halfback combination in the NRL (Lachlan Galvin and Latu Fainu) against the oldest (Ben Hunt and Adam Reynolds).
In the first half, their enthusiasm and willingness to run the ball looked as though it might be enough to secure victory.
The Tigers scored three first-half tries via Luke Laulilii, Sunia Turuva and Starford To’a, but were unable to convert any of them, while the Broncos touched down twice through Jesse Arthars and Xavier Willison with all converted by Reynolds, who also added a two-point field-goal just before the interval to give the home side a two-point lead.
Two Broncos tries early in the second half by Willison and Reynolds, the latter coming from a precise kick and chase, put the Broncos 14 points ahead, with Reynolds then leaving the field with a hamstring strain and the Tigers losing Latu Fainu to a head-injury assessment.
Although a Sione Fainu try threatened to get the Tigers back into the game, two quick tries from Jesse Arthars and Billy Walters effectively ended the contest.
The Tigers, to their credit, never gave up the chase, scoring late on through To’a again after Gehamat Shibasaki had crossed for the victors.
BRONCOS: 1 Reece Walsh, 2 Selwyn Cobbo, 3 Kotoni Staggs, 4 Gehamat Shibasaki, 5 Jesse Arthars, 6 Ben Hunt, 7 Adam Reynolds, 8 Patrick Carrigan, 9 Cory Paix, 10 Payne Haas, 11 Jack Gosiewski, 12 Brendan Piakura, 13 Kobe Hetherington. Subs (all used): 14 Billy Walters, 15 Corey Jensen, 16 Xavier Willison, 17 Jaiyden Hunt
Tries: Arthars (5, 59), Willison (38, 43), Reynolds (45), Walters (61), Shibasaki (71); Goals: Reynolds 4/4, Walsh 4/4; Two-point field-goals: Reynolds (40); Sin bin: Piakura (20) – high tackle
TIGERS: 1 Jahream Bula, 2 Sunia Turuva, 3 Adam Doueihi, 4 Starford To’a, 5 Luke Laulilii, 6 Lachlan Galvin, 7 Latu Fainu, 8 Terrell May, 9 Api Koroisau, 10 Fonua Pole, 12 Alex Seyfarth, 16 Jack Bird, 13 Alex Twal. Subs (all used): 14 Tallyn Da Silva, 15 Royce Hunt, 17 Sione Fainu, 22 Tony Sukkar
Tries: Laulilii (15), Turuva (27, To’a (32, 76), S Fainu (52); Goals: Koroisau 2/3, Da Silva 0/1, Doueihi 0/1; Sin bin: To’a (80) – professional foul
SCORING SEQUENCE: 6-0, 6-4, 6-8, 6-12, 12-12, 14-12; 20-12, 26-12, 26-18, 32-18, 38-18, 44-18, 44-24, 46-24
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Broncos: Patrick Carrigan; Tigers: Terrell May
Penalty count: 5-10; Half-time: 14-12; Referee: Liam Kennedy; Attendance: 41,011
