Round 25, 2024: Brisbane 30 Parramatta 24

Broncos overcome Eels with fighting comeback

The Brisbane Broncos fought back from a 16-0 deficit to post a 30-24 win against Parramatta and in the process, keep their faint finals hopes alive.

A three-try burst in the opening 10 minutes saw the Eels surge out to their lead, with Will Penisini going over in just the second minute after an error from the Broncos trying to collect a kick, losing the ball over the sideline instead. His try was followed by four-pointers to Joe Ofahengaue and Maika Sivo, who had returned to the starting side this week.

The Broncos finally got their heads into the game and the match settled into more of a contest, with Brisbane almost responding twice with Tristan Sailor and Kotoni Staggs going close, but unable to score. Sailor however wasn't going to be denied in the first half after being heavily involved in turning around his side's performance, scoring his side's first try after making a break from deep within his own half and stepping and weaving his way around defenders.

The Broncos were in again when five-eighth Josh Rogers stepped his way in to really signal a shift in the game, with Adam Reynolds kicking the conversion to trail 16-12.

Deine Mariner tried to convince the match officials that he'd scored his side's third not long after when he attempted to finish a frantic last tackle play for the Broncos, but he was held up in a relief for the Eels who were able to reset after giving up all their early momentum and went into the break with their 16-12 lead.

After the break, the Eels pushed out to a six-point lead after successfully opting to take a kick for a penalty.

However, the Broncos were the next to score a try, with Selwyn Cobbo staying out wide on his wing, catching a ball from Sailor that went across the face of his centre and scooting over to score. Reynolds nailed the conversion that was just inside the sideline to draw the scores level 18-18 midway through the second half.

Reynolds then pounced on a poor pass from Parramatta, sneaking through to pluck the ball from the Eels and run through to give his side the lead for the first time, with his conversion pushing the scores to 24-18 with 13-and-a-half minutes left to play.

The Broncos skipper was involved again his high kick proved too much for Sivo at the back, picking up the scraps and then kicking through for a chasing Staggs who scored Brisbane's fifth straight unanswered try.

Parramatta then made things interesting when Shaun Lane ran through on a grubber kick to score in the 71st minute, with Clint Gutherson adding the extras to narrow the margin to 30-24.

The pressure at the end of the game was telling, with Reynolds kicking out on the full in the closing moments to give the Eels possession and a sniff at drawing level to take the game to golden point, but the Broncos - who were without injured stars Reece Walsh (hand), Ezra Mam (ankle) and Payne Haas (foot) - were able to hold on to post a win and keep their faint finals hopes alive.

Next week, the Eels will host the Dragons at CommBank Stadium on Saturday, while the Broncos will be at Suncorp Stadium as the 'away' team, taking on the Dolphins also on Saturday afternoon.

Match Snapshot
Entry to the stadium was delayed after a false fire alarm, but a crowd of 36,289 eventually rolled in to watch the game.
At halftime, the Eels had the better of the possession with 56 percent of the ball with a 19/23 completion rate compared to 15/18 for the Broncos. However, the Broncos had made nine errors to Parramatta's five.
Broncos forward Kobe Hetherington left the field late in the first half for a HIA, which he failed.
Broncos centre Kotoni Staggs has now scored six tries in his past six games after crossing in the second half.
Forward Joe Ofahengaue, who was a strong performer for the Eels during the match, was sent from the field in the final moments of the match for a HIA.
Brisbane had a number of standout players, with Tristan Sailor scoring a try and producing a try assist, Adam Reynolds scoring a try and producing two try assists and Pat Carrigan with 215 run metres and 54 tackles.
The Broncos have now won five of their past six games against the Eels.
The Eels have lost 10 from 11 away from home this season.

NRL.com