BRISBANE BRONCOS 42 CANTERBURY BULLDOGS 18
IAN HOWE, Suncorp Stadium, Thursday
ADAM REYNOLDS defied a shoulder injury to mastermind Brisbane’s stunning win over previously unbeaten leaders Canterbury.
The Bulldogs came into this game on a streak of six successive wins to start 2025 but, in monsoon conditions, they were hit by a metaphorical Broncos monsoon in the first half and conceded 34 unanswered points.
Canterbury made one change on the bench, with Harry Hayes replacing the injured Tommy Todd.
The Broncos had to replace their star fullback Reece Walsh, out with a knee injury, with Selwyn Cobbo moving into that position from the wing and Deine Mariner coming in out wide.
Before the match there was an Anzac ceremony paying respect to military personnel from Australia and New Zealand accompanied by the Last Post – a ceremony that will be repeated across all the NRL games on Anzac weekend.
The home side, inspired by Reynolds, played a perfect first half of football in the conditions.
They started like a house on fire and Xavier Willison scored in the first two minutes after being fed by Reynolds. It was the first points conceded by the Bulldogs in 210 minutes.
Billy Walters put more pressure on the Bulldogs with a perfectly executed 40/20, and on nine minutes the Broncos were in again when Patrick Carrigan and Payne Haas combined to put Reynolds over the line.
In scoring, Reynolds suffered a shoulder injury that saw Cobbo temporarily take over the goalkicking duties.
And soon afterwards, trailing by twelve points, the Bulldogs suffered a further setback when Josh Curran was sin-binned for a shoulder charge to the head of Haas.
Reynolds immediately took advantage with a crossfield kick to Mariner for their third try, with Reynolds back on kicking duty and landing the goal from near the touchline.
The Broncos piled on the agony for Canterbury with their fourth try, created by Cobbo for Gehamat Shibasaki, with Reynolds again goaling from touch for a 24-0 lead.
And it was Reynolds once more who did the damage for the Broncos’ fifth try when he again kicked towards the corner for Mariner’s second try.
Reynolds kicked the Broncos’ second 40/20 of the evening before they scored their sixth try as the ball was spread wide for Jesse Arthars to score in the left corner for Reynolds to add another touchline conversion.
The Bulldogs began their fightback in the 46th minute when Marcelo Montoya scored off the back of a penalty.
And they continued it, despite Montoya becoming the third sin-binned Bulldogs player, when Sexton kicked high and the ball was passed to Jacob Preston for the try.
And Bronson Xerri scored their third try to put them only 16 points behind with eight minutes to go.
But it was the Broncos who rounded off the scoring, with a late penalty by Cobbo after Reynolds had left the field with his injured shoulder and a late converted try by Billy Walters.
GAMESTAR: Adam Reynolds gave a masterclass in halfback play.
GAMEBREAKER: Jesse Arthars’ try on 32 minutes gave the Broncos a 34-0 lead and it was too much for the Bulldogs to counter with their second-half revival.
MATCHFACTS
BRONCOS
1 Selwyn Cobbo
2 Deine Mariner
3 Kotoni Staggs
4 Gehamat Shibasaki
5 Jesse Arthars
6 Ben Hunt
7 Adam Reynolds
8 Patrick Carrigan
9 Billy Walters
10 Payne Haas
11 Xavier Willison
16 Brendan Piakura
13 Kobe Hetherington
Subs (all used)
14 Cory Paix
15 Corey Jensen
17 Jaiyden Hunt
18 Tyson Smoothy
Tries: Willison (2), Reynolds (9), Mariner (12, 28), Shibasaki (18), Arthars (32), Walters (80)
Goals: Reynolds 4/5, Cobbo 3/3
Sin bin: Mariner (72) – high tackle
BULLDOGS
1 Connor Tracey
5 Marcelo Montoya
3 Bronson Xerri
4 Stephen Crichton
2 Jacob Kiraz
6 Matt Burton
7 Toby Sexton
8 Max King
9 Reed Mahoney
10 Josh Curran
11 Viliame Kikau
12 Jacob Preston
13 Jaeman Salmon
Subs (all used)
14 Kurt Mann
15 Sitili Tupouniua
16 Harry Hayes
17 Bailey Hayward
Tries: Montoya (46), Preston (57), Xerri (72)
Goals: Crichton 3/3
Sin bin: Curran (11) – high tackle, Tupouniua (34) – high tackle, Montoya (53) – high tackle
SCORING SEQUENCE: 6-0, 12-0, 18-0, 24-0, 28-0, 34-0; 34-6, 34-12, 34-18, 36-18, 42-18
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Broncos: Adam Reynolds; Bulldogs: Jacob Preston
Penalty count: 8-8
Half-time: 34-0
Referee: Gerard Sutton
Attendance: 40,233
