Pink Broncos power past Bunnies

The Brisbane Broncos have given club stalwart Petero Civoniceva the perfect gift in his 300th first grade appearance, with a 26-12 win over Souths at Suncorp Stadium tonight.

Sporting pink jerseys in support of ‘Women in League’ round, the Broncos’ performance reflected the spirit in which ‘Bulla’ plays the game – tough, uncompromising and gutsy.

Though the Broncos lacked polish in attack, coach Anthony Griffin would be pleased his side escaped with the two premiership points to skip clear into outright second spot on the NRL ladder.

Civoniceva’s front row partner Josh McGuire was outstanding in Ben Hannant’s absence, as was the returning Corey Parker, who made over 50 tackles.

36-year-old prop Civoniceva was given the chance to convert a late Broncos try, much to the delight of the 33,602 fans. The Fijian-born giant’s attempt missed but the Broncos galloped away with the game.

The somewhat dour contest went try for try until the 65th minute when Corey Norman scored a couple of minutes after Dale Copley tipped the ledger in favour of the home side.

Copley was on the receiving end of some quick hands from Jack Reed before Norman happily accepted a room service deflection off Greg Inglis after Andrew McCullough attempted a chip and chase.

It was McCullough’s second kick that proved the most pivotal, catching the Rabbitohs’ fullback on the backside and bouncing into the arms of Norman, who steamed through to score under the posts.

Just prior to fulltime, Ben Te’o, who runs some of the most devastating lines in the game, ran off the hip of Peter Wallace who sent his barnstorming forward into a gaping hole.

Civoniceva’s conversion was waved wide as Brisbane powered to a 26-12 win. Beforehand, the Broncos snatched the lead back when Alex Glenn snaffled a Wallace chip from the grasp of a couple of Bunnies defenders early in the second half after a number of fortunate penalties.

The advantage lasted just a few minutes.

Peppering the South Sydney line, Brisbane put together a set play that lacked execution. Nathan Merritt plucked a Corey Norman pass, sprinted 90 metres downfield and scored under the posts.

After both teams failed to hold onto the ball in the opening exchanges of the first half, it was the Broncos, through Josh Hoffman, who looked to have opened the scoring.

However the try was called back when the officials ruled Sam Thaiday’s pass to his fullback travelled forward.

The Broncos finally cracked the Bunnies’ defensive line via a probing Wallace kick. Former Bronco Justin Hunt fumbled the grubber in his own in-goal and strike centre Hodges pounced to give Brisbane a 4-0 lead after 21 minutes.

Late in the half, South Sydney busted the Brisbane line open via back-rower Chris McQueen to give his side an unlikely 6-4 halftime lead.

NRL Season 2012 - Round 16:

Brisbane Broncos - 26
Tries: Justin Hodges, Alex Glenn, Dale Copley, Corey Norman, Ben Te’o
Goals: Corey Parker 3/4, Petero Civoniceva 0/1

South Sydney Rabbitohs - 12
Tries: Chris McQueen, Nathan Merritt
Goals: Adam Reynolds 2/2

Crowd: 33,602 @ Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Referees: Tony Archer & Chris James
Half Time: South Sydney 6-4

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