Barnstorming Broncos Blitz Eels

A barnstorming Brisbane outfit turned on a nine-try Gabba blitz to blow away the Eels 54-10 in a Friday night classic that sealed a top-four spot for the Broncos.

Fullback Reece Walsh was at his scintillating seemingly breaking the line at will, with a host of teammates not far behind including crafty hooker Billy Walters, evergreen backrower Kurt Capwell, workaholic lock Pat Carrigan and two-try winger Deine Mariner.

The Broncos were keen to celebrate Payne Haas’s 100th game and they did exactly that with an exciting display welcoming back Captain Adam Reynolds, who kicked his 1000th goal during the win – just the second man to achieve that mark in NRL history behind Cameron Smith.  

Brisbane opened the scoring in the sixth minute with a Reynolds penalty goal as the game settled into a grinding affair with both sides completing their sets with strong kick-chases.

The Eels actually had the better of field position as they pinned the home team on their line repeatedly until some clever work in broken play on the halfway saw the Broncos score the opening try.

Walsh held up a nice short pass to send Capewell into the clear down the left sideline before the backrower sent a crafty grubber back inside for Reynolds to collect and race away under the posts.

The skipper converted from in front and it was 8-0 after 21 minutes. The Broncos were starting to find their range and it was hooker Walters who capitalised off the back of repeat sets at the Eels line.

Walters produced not one but two huge left foot steps to leave the Eels’ big middle forwards clutching at air as the rake scored under the posts. Reynolds converted for a 14-0 lead in the 28th minute.

Two minutes later the home team surged further ahead off a scrum move when Walsh received the ball and threw an audacious 20-metre tumbling pass which perfectly hit winger Mariner for a try in the left corner.

Brisbane rounded out a complete first half when Mariner plucked an intercept on the left wing and scorched away before finding Herbie Farnworth, who was pulled down by a deperate Mitch Moses but managed to find his feet and reverse over the line for a try.

Reynolds converted from the sideline to give his team a 24-0 advantage at halftime and it only took four minutes for Brisbane to stretch that advantage further after the break.

The Broncos hammered the right repeatedly before flicking the ball out to the left and Ezra Mam hitting the line at speed and finding a flying Mariner with a superb cutout pass to score in the corner. Reynolds converted and it was 30-0.

Mam went from provider to scorer a few minutes later when he backed up some nice ball-play in the midfield to again use his speed and stretch out for a converted try to the left of the posts in the 47th minute.

The Broncos’ farewell to the Gabba was turning into a rout when Walters crossed for his second try after chasing down a nice inside kick from Mariner after he cut through the left-side defence yet again. Reynolds kicked seventh goal of the night and it was 42-0 after 53 minutes.    

Sean Russell got the Eels on the board in the 63rd with a try in the right corner but the home side resumed normal transmission five minute later when Tyson Smoothy slipped a lovely offload to Capewell to score a well-deserved converted try next to posts for a 48-4 lead.

Dylan Brown crossed for another before Walsh got a try of his own for the Broncos to add to his five line break assist and one assist – the fullback grabbing a Selwyn Cobbo grubber back on the inside from the right sideline to score under the posts.

Reynolds kicked the conversion to notch his 1000th goal in a stellar career as the Broncos brought up a half century to complete three wins from three games at The Gabba, before returning to Suncorp Stadium for at final round blockbuster against the Storm in three weeks.