Brisbane winger Jamayne Isaako has opened his NRL try-scoring account with a double for the Broncos who have turned their fortunes around with a 27-18 win over the Warriors in Auckland.
The former Junior Kiwi scored in both halves and also landed five goals on Saturday for a personal haul of 18 points.
The Broncos went into the match with two losses in a row but they showed plenty of running, with Joe Ofahengaue, Matt Lodge and Josh McGuire leading the charge, while half Anthony Milford was influential with the boot.
Coach Wayne Bennett believed his players had improved on a good performance in last week’s 15-10 defeat to Newcastle.
“We played pretty well in Newcastle last week – we weren’t perfect,” he said.
“We just felt, if we could build on that game, we would give ourselves a chance.”
A groin injury to Kodi Nikorima meant the stuttering halves pairing between Nikorima and Milford was broken up, with centre Jack Bird filling the vacancy.
Bennett’s assessment of Bird’s display was “steady”.
“He did a good job for us,” he said.
“He played his role and that was all we needed him to do.”
The defeat ended the Warriors’ unbeaten start to the season and coach Stepehn Kearney was disappointed with their performance in front of 15,636 fans.
He said credit had to be given to the Broncos, who brought real commitment and intent with them.
“Right from the outset, I didn’t think we matched that so, from that point of view, there was a bit of disappointment there,” he said.
“One thing about this game is, if you are not quite there physically – that’s both when you don’t have the ball in defence and when you have got the ball, carrying the footy – it makes for a tough day at the office.”
The loss was made worse by injuries to back-rower Leivaha Pulu and centre Solomone Kata, who both limped off.
Pulu, set to have scans on a foot problem, “could be out for a bit”, while Kearney said it was a case of waiting to see how Kata’s leg pulled up over the next 24 hours.
Broncos winger Corey Oates, who was a constant threat, gave his side the early lead, cutting in from the left to score, before his opposite, David Fusitu’a, replied with his eighth try of the season.
The Broncos scored again after a huge break by James Roberts, who sent Isaako over, but the Warriors struck back through a Blake Green try.
A Milford field goal edged the Broncos in front 15-14 right on halftime and they went further ahead through tries to interchange backrower Jaydn Su’a and Isaako.
The Warriors produced a strong finish and Shaun Johnson scored with nine minutes to go but that was close as they could get.