Milestone man Anthony Milford has helped to steer Brisbane to a drought-breaking 29-6 NRL win over an injury-hit Cronulla at Suncorp Stadium.
Five-eighth Milford celebrated his 150th NRL game with a first-half masterclass, answering his critics on Saturday night as the Broncos ended a worrying four-game losing streak.
Milford set up two of Brisbane’s three opening-half tries and potted a field goal as the hosts stormed to a 21-0 buffer at the break and were never threatened against a Cronulla outfit struck down by injury.
The Sharks were behind the eight ball from the outset when they lost centre Josh Dugan (hamstring) before kickoff then star playmaker Shaun Johnson succumbed to a suspected hamstring complaint in the 22nd minute.
Brisbane showed no mercy, entertaining the 27,638-strong crowd to provide sweet relief for besieged coach Anthony Seibold.
The Broncos were under pressure after suffering their worst season start in 20 years but appeared to rectify their defensive woes overnight to avoid losing five-straight games for the first time since 2012.
Seibold’s only concern was losing back-rower Alex Glenn midway through the second half with a thigh injury.
It gave Brisbane a timely shot in the arm ahead of their next round grudge match against former Broncos coach Wayne Bennett’s South Sydney.
While Milford silenced the cynics, winger Corey Oates – running 170m – was enormous along with centre Jack Bird (101m, 12 tackle breaks) against his former club Cronulla.
Brisbane’s pack also stood up, led by props Matt Lodge (180m) and Payne Haas (153m), while lock Tevita Pangai (160m) impressed in his return from suspension.
Oates ran off Milford to open the scoring in the eighth minute after the Broncos made the visitors pay for fullback William Kennedy’s shocking pass that led to a knock-on.
It marked Oates’ seventh-consecutive game he had scored against the Sharks.
Glenn burrowed over in the 11th minute after a knock-on from 19-year-old Ronaldo Mulitalo who made a nightmare NRL debut after being slotted onto the wing in a reshuffled backline following Dugan’s withdrawal.
Milford was at it again to send Joe Ofahengaue over for a 27th-minute try to make it 20-0 before kicking a field goal just before halftime.
Brisbane centre James Roberts crashed over in the 53rd minute for what turned out to be the match winner.
Cronulla didn’t get on the board until the 61st minute when hooker Jayden Brailey pounced on a Chad Townsend kick.