Mam, Mariner magnificent as Broncos down Eels
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The Broncos have defied the loss of skipper Adam Reynolds this week to come away with a 30-14 win over the Eels at CommBank Stadium on Friday.
With several stars watching from the sideline, the young guns took charge for both sides but the class of Brisbane trio Ezra Mam, Deine Mariner and Reece Walsh proved too much for Parramatta in the end.
After falling to their third straight loss, the Eels will be hoping to welcome back halfback Mitch Moses for Magic Round, however will take plenty of positives from the performance of 19-year-old Blaize Talagi who came up with 225 run metres and an impressive try at fullback.
The Eels looked to open the scoring when Bailey Simonsson crossed on the right but despite being called back for a knock on, Parramatta still got two-points out of the play with replays ruling the Bronco's offside and Sean Russell slotted the penalty goal.
After they also had an early opportunity disallowed, the Broncos hit the lead when Mam picked up a loose ball and made his way downfield before finding Walsh in support who went another 60 metres to score.
Blaize Talagi Try
Come the 25th minute and Brisbane hit their straps with Mariner producing some dazzling footwork to dart his way over the right edge credit to some nice lead up work from Josh Rogers and Walsh.
Six minutes later and fill-in fullback Talagi carried on the footwork theme and came up with a huge play after beating Mam on the inside and accelerating his way over the line.
Just seconds before the break Mariner made it a first half double, capitalising off another Broncos' passing error before taking the ball 70m downfield to hand is side an 18-6 lead into the sheds.
Dylan Brown Try
Parramatta raced out of the blocks in the second half thanks to Dylan Brown who came up with a brilliant one-on-one steal and score after Walsh coughed up an Ethan Sanders bomb.
But Brisbane went ahead again in the 53rd minute with Mam standing up in the absence of Adam Reynolds when he exploded into space, chipped over Blaize Talagi and regathered to score for a 24-14 lead.
The stars continued to shine for Brisbane and just four minutes later extended the lead when Walsh drilled a grubber across the in goal and Selwyn Cobbo showed incredible athleticism to put it down before the dead ball line as the Broncos claimed their sixth win for the season.
Match: Eels v Broncos
Round 10 -
home Team
Eels
13th Position
away Team
Broncos
5th Position
Venue: CommBank Stadium, Sydney
Match Snapshot
- Broncos hooker Billy Walters left the field in the 13th minute and did not return after succumbing to a hand injury.
- Broncos centre Kotoni Staggs was placed on report in the 36th minute for a dangerous tackle.
- Deine Mariner had a day out on the Broncos' right edge, finishing the match with two long tries and 212 run metres.
- Filling in for an injured Clint Gutherson, Blaize Talagi also got through plenty of work with 225 run metres and three line breaks to go with an impressive try.
Walsh just happy with the win
- The Eels had 14 errors for the match and completed at just 62 per cent.
- The Eels have conceded 96 points in their past three games.
- 27-year-old Josh Rogers did a fine job filling in at halfback for his second NRL game with 549 kick metres and 27 tackles.
- The Eels have lost their last ten games without fullback Clint Gutherson.
- The Broncos have won four of their past five games against the Eels.
Play of the Game
Just as the Eels were looking to mount a comeback, Ezra Mam came up with a superb solo effort in the 53rd minute. The star five-eighth spotted fullback Blaize Talagi shallow in the line and chipped a ball over his head before getting a perfect bounce and dotting down for the try.
Ezra Mam Try
What They Said
"I was proud of the effort and the physicality in that we were still fighting or trying to win right to the death but we killed ourselves a bit with a 50 per cent completion in the second half and I think that was more off loss opportunities and bombed tries. We created a lot of opportunities, we just didn't finish them off but I like the style of footy that we played. If we continue to come with that effort and attitude then I'm confident we can turn it around." - Eels coach Brad Arthur
Eels: Round 10
"When we had to score, we picked up some points which was very helpful throughout the game. Most of our tries were off no structure, just playing footy, do we got a bit lucky on a couple of occasions but I thought our try-line defence was very good. Our try-line attack against opposition isn't great and is something we need to improve but we're still scoring enough points to win games which is pleasing. How we structure our attack to score points is where we need to be better." - Broncos coach Kevin Walters
Broncos: Round 10
What's Next
The Eels enjoy a long turnaround with nine days to prepare to meet the Storm at Suncorp Stadium while the Broncos once again enjoy a home match against Manly for Magic Round.
