SUMMARY
Yes, the Broncos were undermanned. Yes, the Roosters are the reigning premiers. But few could have foreseen a result of this magnitude. The Roosters were dominant from go to whoa, passing with fluency and monstering the Broncos with their attacking muscle. Ten tries to nothing tells part of the story, but there isn’t a chapter that speaks well of the Broncos. Sixty-four percent possession to the visitors and 39 completed sets to 20 are other takeouts that highlight the Roosters’ supremacy.
Just one spot on the ladder separated these teams before the game but now one team is heading north and the other south. This was the Broncos’ biggest defeat, the first time they’ve been held scoreless at Suncorp Stadium and, just for good measure, the first time in NRL history we’ve seen a 59-0 scoreline. It was just one of those nights. And to think The Chooks did all this without the game’s best player, James Tedesco. Scary.
Thanks for your company. Let’s do it all again tomorrow when the Storm host the Rabbitohs.
FT: Brisbane Broncos 0-59 Sydney Roosters
The Broncos can’t get a late try and nor did they deserve to. This was a mismatch from start to finish, an annihilation. All credit to the Roosters, who were a class apart. A landslide in tri-colours.
78 mins: Pictures coming through of Radley and his strapped and iced elbow, not wrist. He’s smiling, though, so that’s something. The Broncos are close here and get a fresh set 20 metres out after a penalty. And now a Chooks knock-on gives the Broncos a chance to score in the final minute. But, no, this just isn’t in the script. No dice, Brisbane.
TRY! Brisbane Broncos 0-59 Sydney Roosters
74 mins: And now for something completely different ... a Sydney Roosters try! The Chooks are passing at will, almost unchallenged, and Keary does as he pleases, links with Josh Morris before Brett Morris adds his name to the scorer’s list. Shelling peas would be harder than this. And now Flanagan converts from an acute angle. This is all shades of wrong for Brisbane. The Roosters can do no wrong.
Updated
74 mins: Radley’s in a bit of trouble here, clutching at his right wrist after becoming entangled in a tackle with Milford. Brisbane then go on a rare attacking run which is derailed by a knock-on, which is duly challenged by the captain. Which is duly overruled. As you were.
TRY! Brisbane Broncos 0-53 Sydney Roosters
70 mins: The pressure continues to mount and though Boyd gathers, Crichton carries him in goal to hand possession back to the Roosters. From the restart it’s more of the same, passes linking as if attached by a chain before Tupou charges over at the left corner and runs inside to make Flanagan’s conversion a simple one. The 50 is up. Raise your bats, Chookmen. Just take a look at that scoreline. Incredible.
Daniel Tupou is now 4TH on the all time Roosters try scoring list 👏 #EastsToWin #NRLBroncosRoosters pic.twitter.com/s7tT8h8795
— Sydney Roosters 🏆🏆 (@sydneyroosters) June 4, 2020
68 mins: The Broncos complete a set but far from convincingly, and - ho-hum - Tupou collects the kick to spark another attacking move, which is helped by a ruck infringement that resets the tackle count. Nothing comes from it but even if the scores remain as they are, the Broncos are staring down the barrel of their biggest defeat.
TRY! Brisbane Broncos 0-47 Sydney Roosters
63 mins: And the Roosters advance again, this time Crichton charging from dummy half and using sheer force of will, plus some momentum, to edge his way over the line. That’s now nine tries for the Chooks. The Broncos have never been held scoreless at Suncorp. They’re about to be, methinks.
63' He got there alright! Fifth tackle barge for his second of the night #EastsToWin #NRLBroncosRoosters pic.twitter.com/8tgusK8pUC
— Sydney Roosters 🏆🏆 (@sydneyroosters) June 4, 2020
Updated
61 mins: No Try! The Roosters are celebrating yet another try but replays indicate a faint knock-on after a Keary high-ball.
TRY! Brisbane Broncos 0-41 Sydney Roosters
58 mins: Another forward thrust down the left is initially contained by the Broncos but Keary has enough time to switch direction, waltz into the middle and offload to Collins who scores just his second career try. Yes, the Chooks are now sharing it around. Take a ticket, lads.
53 mins: A ruck infringement resets the tackle count 10 metres out for Sydney but a rare communication error then turns the ball over and back in Brisbane hands. But normal service is soon resumed. Friend produces a deft little kick but the ball comes back after a penalty. And now another infringement resets the tackle count yet again. And again! But this time Arthars is sent to the sin-bin. How many times can you infringe, how many times can you concede penalties? Enough!
50 mins: Keary dribbles in a nice kick but Isaako handles with care to defuse the threat. Brett Morris was bearing down hard and emerges from the tackle with blood pouring out of his mouth. Not sure he knows or cares about that.
47 mins: ANOTHER handling error from Brisbane, this time 10 metres out from the Sydney line, releases the pressure for the Roosters and hands them back the ball. We head to the other end of the ground at speed but a forward pass lets Brisbane off the hook.
TRY! Brisbane Broncos 0-35 Sydney Roosters
44 mins: A barging, bullocking, irresistible run from Liu after a fast play-the-ball opens up the Broncos like a can of baked beans. The big man palms off to Keary, who turns on the gas to score the Chooks’ sixth try. This is all coming a little too easy for the Roosters. Poor tackling from a Broncos outfit bereft of confidence, energy and ideas.
Updated
41 mins: And we’re back. My eldest son, en route to his bedroom for a well-earned kip, glanced at the scoreline on the TV and chuckled. “Is there a mercy rule in the NRL,” he asked. No, but there should be. We start the second half as we ended the first, the Roosters building pressure on both flanks. Tupou looks set to clutch a high ball just inside the try line but Arthars takes a good grab to snuff out the move.
It would be churlish to say anything other than ‘all played well’ in that first half for the Roosters, but there were some standouts. Radley is running amok, Flanagan is on fire and the Morris brothers are dead-set carving it up. Brett Morris, in particular, is doing as he pleases and doing it at both ends of the ground. Looks every inch a world-class fullback. Who needs James Tedesco?
HT: Brisbane Broncos 0-29 Sydney Roosters
A Keary field goal in the dying seconds of the first half adds just one point to the tally, but it’s illustrative of just how arrogantly the Roosters are putting the Broncos away tonight. Five tries to zip - should be more - 21 completed sets to nine, 70% possession and - wait for it - 1,167 all-run metres to 523. The visitors might as well be playing against the cardboard cutouts adorning the stands.
HALF TIME | Broncos 0 - 29 Roosters
— The Tryline (@TrylineUK) June 4, 2020
Stunning. Simply stunning.
These boys are irresistible at their best! The red-hot Roosters have blown Brisbane away 🔥#NRLBroncosRoosters #EastsToWin pic.twitter.com/9ONWnpFNU9
37 mins: Penalty for Roosters after the Broncos obstructed the kick-chase and they go for the jugular. Brett Morris goes for gold, hits the deck in the tackle and looks set to reach over the line only for the Broncos to win the battle and regain possession. Six completed sets to 19 at the minute. A shellacking.
35 mins: The Chooks look like they’ve scored again courtesy of Josh Morris but the bunker says no try, pointing to an obstruction by Cordner. Not much in that at all. The mercy rule in action?
TRY! Brisbane Broncos 0-28 Sydney Roosters
The Roosters play the ball in fine blink-and-you’ll-miss-it fashion and the Broncos are caught napping, leaving Flanagan to score a try between the posts, unmarked and untouched. This is now officially out of hand.
29 mins: Brisbane get a penalty for a “knee in the face” and for the first time tonight the Roosters are under pressure. Passes are strung together and Croft goes aerial, with Boyd destined to get on the end of it but his laconic attempt to gain control amounts to nothing.
TRY! Brisbane Broncos 0-22 Sydney Roosters
25 mins: A handling error inside the Broncos’ own 20 yet again hands the momentum to the Roosters. And it descends into a numbers game, the Chooks gaining metres galore with their tackles and passing with such precision that you know what’s going to happen before it even has. They’re pretty much queuing up to score a try and now it’s Crichton’s turn in the limelight. Another conversion by Flanagan and Brisbane are in a world of pain right now. They have nothing. Nada.
Updated
23 mins: This is the best moment for Brisbane, with Haas going on a bit of a run and forcing the Chooks into defensive mode for the first time. Oates is on down the left and looks like he’s a chance but Brett Morris mows him down with a crunching tackle. The Roosters No 5 is having a night out at fullback.
TRY! Brisbane Broncos 0-16 Sydney Roosters
18 mins: Errors galore from Brisbane and now Flegler coughs up the ball. The Roosters charge forward and the tackle count gets reset after four tackles, inviting Radley to change direction and make a mad dash to the line. Try No 3, conversion No 2. The Broncos look tired and clueless. Total mismatch. The Roosters have enjoyed 71% of the possession. Huh? Don’t think I’ve seen Brisbane with the ball.
Here’s the Manu try. Who’d be a cameraman!
No social distancing with this cameraman. 💥😂
— NRL on Nine (@NRLonNine) June 4, 2020
Watch: Channel 9
Stream: https://t.co/q2xdUlca38#9WWOS #NRL #NRLBroncosRoosters pic.twitter.com/UM7hUKP7xT
13 mins: The Broncos can’t make ground by foot so it’s left to the boot again but again Tupou is up to the task. And the Chooks are away again. Ripper of a set, hard running are sure passing. The ball yo-yos to the other end, so Brisbane get some breathing space, but again the Roosters get mobile. Forwards are killing them. Friend’s kick then goes a bit too long, handing Brisbane a chance to steady.
TRY! Brisbane Broncos 0-10 Sydney Roosters
9 mins: Those Chooks forwards are heaping pressure on the Broncos; they’re gaining metres with every tackle. A fresh set of six awarded - ON THE LAST TACKLE! - makes the outcome almost inevitable as the Roosters toss it around like it’s a training drill and the ball ends up with Manu, who touches down in the right corner. Brett Morris is making his influence felt in a big way. Flanagan gets his kicking boot on and the Chooks are out to a 10-point advantage. This could get silly.
TRY! Brisbane Broncos 0-4 Sydney Roosters
4 mins: The Roosters have been building pressure and the passes are lightning fast from dummy half, the Morris brothers finishing the job with Brett offloading a one-hander to Josh who twists and turns his way over. Ominous signs here and we’ve only just begun. Crook conversion attempt from Flanagan, however, and what should be a six-point lead is only four.
3 mins: The Broncos try to gain advantage by foot but Tupou is solid under the descending ball. And now a mad scramble a metre out from the Broncos’ line; flick passes everywhere and the Chooks are almost over but the Broncos hold firm. Scrum for the Roosters.
1 min: And we’re away. JWH tries to go for an early run but is mobbed by a bevvy of Broncos. Thursday night footy. Doesn’t get much better.
We’re five minutes away. Just looking back over the team sheets. Those Roosters forwards are scary. How on earth will the Broncos match them? Insert perplexed emoji here.
Ben Te’o is on his way back to Brissie. That’s a nice little fillip for the Broncos. They could do with him out there tonight.
Ben Te'o is back! 🐴 #9WWOS #NRL pic.twitter.com/SsUpop7h6n
— Wide World of Sports (@wwos) June 4, 2020
TEAMS
#NRLBroncosRoosters late mail is in. Tedesco missing for the @sydneyroosters with @bmozzle moving to the back and @Ryan5Hall on the wing. SST (prop) is in too, with Collins benched and Tupouniua out.@brisbanebroncos Turpin out, Paix hooker.
— LeagueUnlimited NRL & Rugby League News (@LeagueUnlimited) June 4, 2020
Deets: https://t.co/VLPD4WaT4q pic.twitter.com/AVS33PAiJQ
My takeouts:
- No James Tedesco = No worries for the Roosters. Chooks by 13+
- Broncos to struggle without Jake Turpin and Kotoni Staggs, the latter free to spend a week making his already wicked roundhouse even better
- If Brisbane have a puncher’s chance at all, Brodie Croft will need to have a blinder
- Brett Morris to fullback? Why the hell not. Reckon he might even score a try tonight
- As someone who’s done his calf in before, I feel for Alex Glenn
- As someone who’s never played in the NRL, I’ve no idea how Cory Paix will be feeling right now
Preamble
Underwater knitting, anyone? If your name is Jeff Kennett, strap yourself in for a couple hours of utter and irredeemable boredom. If you’re name isn’t Jeff Kennett - and let’s face it, that’s most of you - welcome to our liveblog of a match that might not look much if you’re a ladder watcher, but has plenty riding on it and should be a cracker. The Broncos were put firmly in their place last week by Parramatta and this test against the resurgent premiers should give context to the form, and by dint the bona-fides of the Eels’ premiership credentials.
If Brisbane can get past the Roosters tonight, we definitely have a new kid in town and he’s coloured blue and gold. But that won’t be easy. The Chooks were back to something like their best against South Sydney and can continue their charge into the eight with victory in the Broncos’ back yard. They’ll have to do it without fullback James Tedesco, who awoke this morning with an elevated temperature. In these times of the coronavirus, that’s enough to rule you out.
Speaking of Covid-19 and sport, let’s remove hats once again in honour of the NRL and the man now running the game, Peter V’landys. They said it couldn’t, shouldn’t be done, but done it is and if viewing figures are anything to go by, the armchair public of Australia is chuffed to bits. No need to be so salty, Jeff.
Pitch is looking the goods and we're just over an hour from kick off! #EastsToWin #NRLBroncosRoosters pic.twitter.com/KJTmY5zIAA
— Sydney Roosters 🏆🏆 (@sydneyroosters) June 4, 2020
