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Message: [QUOTE="Big Pete, post: 2705255, member: 1899"] Ah, what the hell. [B]Qualifying Final #1 2008 - Sydney Roosters (4th) vs Brisbane Broncos (5th)[/B] Brisbane and Sydney ushered in the 2008 finals series with a bruising encounter that was eerily reminiscent of an Origin game. [B]Before the opening whistle...[/B] Both teams entered the finals on the back of impressive victories where they kept their opponents try-less. It was just the tonic both teams needed after an indifferent month of Rugby League and set up a gripping encounter at the Sydney Football Stadium. Unfortunately for the hosts, they would enter the game without star recruit Willie Mason, after scans revealed the State of Origin star tore his anterior cruciate ligament against the Dragons. Meanwhile, Brisbane were close to full-strength with Justin Hodges returning to the starting side after Bennett opted to select him on the bench against the Newcastle Knights. [B]First Half[/B] It didn't take long for this game to get going. In the opening set, Sam Thaiday leveled Anthony Cherrington with a nice shot that signalled the style of the game early. Not to be outdone, Mark O'Meley replied with one of the shots of the season as he smashed Joel Clinton into next week. It was a huge hit, one that would result in a lengthy stint on the sideline these days but back in 2008 was fair game and Sydney had some early momentum. Moments later, Braith Anasta catches the markers out with an incisive run before finding Sa in support to make a nice gain of 40m. The Broncos defence fails to recover in time and give up the penalty, gifting Sydney with a 2-0 lead. It didn't take Brisbane long to respond. On their first possession Nate Myles was penalised for a late hit on Wallace, and the Broncos opted to make it a 2 all game inside the opening 10 minutes. Sydney continued to ramp up the defence and were richly rewarded in the 14th minute when Soliola raced up and picked a bullet pass from Lockyer. The legendary Queensland had designs of sending his outside men the length of the field, instead he found himself behind his own goal-posts. 8-2 Roosters. The game ebbed and flowed until a controversial call by Tony Archer put the Roosters on the front foot. It appeared as if the Roosters defence had kicked the ball as Hodges was trying to play it. However, Archer ruled that Hodges had played it off the mark. A pedantic penalty, but one that wasn't foreign to the 2008 Broncos who were accused of using it as a legitimate tactic. With all the field territory, the Roosters finally broke through after a well worked play that found Anthony Tupou cross untouched. Off the play the ball, Pearce fired out a pass to Braith Anasta who drew in Lockyer opening up a huge hole for Tupou to stroll through. The players were growing restless but on the scoreboard, the Roosters had a handy 14-2 lead. Sydney were in the box seat until a string of poor defensive plays by #15 David Shillington got Brisbane back on the scoreboard. First was a soft ruck penalty when the Roosters defence seemed to be doing fine. Then to follow up, Shillington completely mis-read the play, tripped over and took his other defender out of play giving Wallace an easy passage to the try line. Broncos trail by 6 after 30. That appeared to be the scoreline heading into half-time until Greg Eastwood gave away a dumb penalty for a late challenge on Mitchell Pearce. Roosters opted to take the 2, giving the Roosters a 16-8 lead heading into the sheds. [B]Second Half[/B] Broncos came out firing and opened the second half with one of the best tries of 2008. The ball went through 12 sets of hands, before Lockyer found Kemp who read the situation perfectly, blitzing the Roosters defence for an inspirational try. 16-12 Roosters. It didn't take too long for the Broncos to hit the lead. Michael Ennis with a huge play to earn a 40/20 for his team, giving Peter Wallace the opportunity to put David Stagg over down the left fringe. Was the pass forward? Probably by a metre, but the scoreboard reads 18-16 Broncos. Both teams came close to scoring, before the guile of Darren Lockyer proved too much for the Roosters. Deep inside Rooster's territory, Lockyer had 3 compelling options down his right and picked the right one, sending trusty partner in crime TC through a yawning gap. Parker's conversion made it a 24-16 game for the Broncos. From there, both teams had their chances to influence the scoreboard but mistakes at inopportune times allowed the Broncos to coast to an impressive 24-16 lead. [B]Wrap-Up [/B] A close physical encounter that was ultimately decided by the experience of the Broncos. Both teams had as many chances as the other, but the Broncos converted more of theirs, while the Roosters lost their way and lacked creativity. [B]Notes [/B] - I have a lot of fond memories of the Broncos, but forgot how inconsistent they could be. At times, they looked like a premiership winning side that could score points from any set position and make some crucial defensive plays. Then at other times, they'd turn the ball over cheaply and could look anemic with the football. - The Roosters were a good side, that should have been great. There was a lot of talent on that roster, easily enough to qualify Top 3, yet they struggled for cohesion and didn't make the most of their strengths. A good example of this would be Anthony Tupou. I know he's remembered now as one of the most overrated players of yester-year, but he was causing the Broncos plenty of trouble down their right edge and yet the Roosters spent the majority of the second half on the other side of the field. It belied logic and highlighted the problems with hiring a legend as a coach. Freddy was a champion player of the game, I'd never say anything otherwise, but he didn't have the nous to get the most out of the Rooster's strengths and when he couldn't motivate them they fell into a heap. - I'm struggling to understand why Brent Grose was selected over Amos Roberts. Was form an issue? Grose was a depth signing who at best could do a job. On the other hand, Roberts was a flier who could convert opportunities. Even Shaun Kenny-Dowall would have been a better option than Grose. Stand-Outs Broncos: Hodges, Wallace, Thaiday, Stagg, Kenny. Roosters: Perrett, O'Meley, Tupou. [B]BRISBANE BRONCOS 24[/B] (Wallace, Kemp, Stagg, Caroll tries; Parker 2/3, Ennis 2/2 goals) defeated [B]SYDNEY ROOSTERS 16[/B] (Soliola, Tupou tries; Fitzgibbon 4/4 goals) [B]Sydney Roosters[/B] 1. Anthony Minichiello 2. Brent Grose 3. Setaimata Sa 4. Iosia Soliola 5. Sam Perrett 6. Braith Anasta 7. Mitchell Pearce 8. Mark O'Meley 9. Riley Brown 10. Lopini Paea 11. Nate Myles 16. Anthony Cherrington 13. Craig Fitzgibbon 12. Anthony Tupou 14. Mickey Paea 15. David Shillington 17. James Aubusson [B]Brisbane Broncos[/B] 1. Karmichael Hunt 2. Darius Boyd 3. Joel Moon 4. Justin Hodges 5. Denan Kemp 6. Darren Lockyer 7. Peter Wallace 8. Ben Hannant 9. Michael Ennis 10. Joel Clinton 11. Corey Parker 12. Sam Thaiday 13. Tonie Caroll 14. David Stagg 15. Ashton Sims 16. Greg Eastwood 17. Nick Kenny [/QUOTE]

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