| Good news, and bad as Broncos take the points | | Print | |
| Saturday, 26 April 2008 10:29 | |||
brisbane times Broncos skipper Darren Lockyer returns from injury to guide his team to victory against the Rabbits. Steve Michaels season is over after suffering a cruciate ligament injury. Photo: Getty Images Phil Lutton | April 25, 2008 - 9:34PM For Broncos fans, the good news is your side has heaped more misery on the winless South Sydney and Darren Lockyer – he of the suspect knee - has emerged unscathed. The bad news is the Anzac Day clash at Suncorp Stadium wasn’t without its casualties. The Broncos made it seven-straight losses for the Rabbitohs with a 32-18 win. Souths trailed 26-6 at the 54-minute mark before a Nathan Merritt double closed the gap, only to have it stretched again by Joel Moon’s try with 20 seconds left in the game. But the pyrrhic nature of the triumph was evident on Brisbane’s injury list, with centre Steve Michaels done for 2008 and Test three-quarter Justin Hodges leaving the contest early clutching his shoulder. Michaels suffered season-ending cruciate ligament damage after his knee was bent at an horrific angle in a tackle by Nigel Vagana in just the fourth minute. Michaels had been an iron-man for Brisbane, playing every minute of every game for Brisbane since round one of last year. But his streak came to end in appalling fashion and he was stretchered off in agony in front of 34,112 stunned fans. Hodges injured his shoulder before halftime and retook the field for the second stanza, only to head to the bench with 15 minutes to play. The game itself was a mismatch until the final 20 minutes. This was the school bully belting up the nerd for his lunch money until the nerd finally threw a punch of his own. The Bunnies showed some early promise, spinning the ball wide to catch their big forwards charging on the fringes. All the good work frayed at the seems when fullback Fetuli Talanoa spilled the ball 10 metres out from his line. Instead, the dire luck was bound for Michaels. Running the ball off the scrum, the 22-year-old was stung in a ball-and-all tackle in a tackle by Vagana, who spun him around as he flung him to the turf. Michaels’ right knee was pinned under the pirouette and bent at a sickening angle. The pain wasn’t just restricted to Michaels’ awful injury. After the restart, Brisbane sent it wide to Denan Kemp to score a frighteningly easy try in the corner and set up a 4-0 lead. Souths have a knack of snatching calamity from the jaws of opportunity. Even when a chanced emerged, they found a way to rain on their own parade. The passage of play that preceded Michael Ennis’s 15th minute penalty was a case in point. A strong tackle from Roy Asotasi forced Ashton Sims to spill the ball on halfway, setting up an attacking scrum.
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| Last Updated on Wednesday, 14 May 2008 05:16 |