Round 5
Newcastle Knights 22 l. Brisbane Broncos 34

2008 NRL Telstra Premiership Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: Aus_NZ > National > First Grade Competition: NRL Telstra Premiership

Ennis shines as Broncos too good for Knights
Mon April 14, 2008
Source: www.broncos.com.au

The WOW Brisbane Broncos have had to stave off miserable weather and a dogged Newcastle outfit to take two valuable NRL competition points at Energy Australia Stadium.

In a match hit by a torrential storm in the second half, the Broncos steadied after the Knights threatened to come back from 26-8 down at halftime.

Michael Ennis was the man of the match after contributing 22 points through two tries and seven goals as his team won 34-22.

"It was wonderful to see Michael come here and play the way we all know he can play," said coach Wayne Bennett.

"He has had two years with us when he has had some injuries, so it was good to see."

When Ennis kicked his second penalty of the day five minutes into the second half it put the Broncos ahead by 20.

Kurt Gidley scored his second try of the match when he danced his way over with 21 minutes left, but it was still 28-14 to the Broncos.

And when Cory Paterson scored his second try two minutes later, the Knights had ignited the match.

Gidley missed the conversion but the Broncos were only ahead by 10.

However the pressure eased when Bronco captain Justin Hodges seized on a mistake by the Knights, and stole a loose ball to run 30 metres and score under the posts.

Ennis kicked the conversion and the Broncos were home at 34-18 with 10 minutes remaining.

The Broncos had started in the best possible fashion after a good break by Newcastle junior Ennis.

Ennis broke the line from dummy half and off-loaded to Tonie Carroll, who was caught from behind.

But on the next play Hodges ran a straight line at a fractured defence and dived over.

Ennis potted the conversion to make it 6-0 after seven minutes.

But the Knights hit back when Gidley got outside his man and found enough space to score in the corner, making it 6-4 after 12 minutes.

And the Knights were in front when Paterson bundled over from close range five minutes later to make it 8-6.

But in the 25th minute David Stagg put David Taylor through a hole and the big front rower perfectly drew the fullback to send Ennis under the posts.

Ennis converted his own try and it was 12-8.

Ennis stepped up again and hit a 43-metre penalty in the 31st minute to make it 14-8.

And it was the little hooker again just four minutes before the half who went up for a Peter Wallace bomb and came down with it, making the easy conversion as well.

Karmichael Hunt then produced a piece of brilliance in the final minute before the break, stepping his way through the line and then dummying past Gidley to give the Broncos an 18-point break at oranges.

BRISBANE BRONCOS 34 (M Ennis 2, J Hodges 2, K Hunt tries; Ennis 7 goals) defeated NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS 22 (K Gidley 2, C Paterson 2, C Houston tries; Gidley goal) at Energy Australia Stadium, Newcastle.
Crowd: 21,614
Referee: Shane Hayne

Report source: www.broncos.com.au

Advanced Search