The Brisbane Broncos appear to be the real deal, claiming a statement 30-14 win over the North Queensland Cowboys in Townsville.
After the Penrith Panthers threw down the gauntlet on Friday night with a trouncing of the Melbourne Storm, the Broncos responded immediately, downing the Cowboys on the road without its leader in Adam Reynolds.
Reynolds was ruled out of the match with groin tightness on Friday but the Broncos were still able to score five tries to three to pull off a famous victory.
While the 30-14 scoreline indicates the Broncos pulled off a fairly easy win, it was anything but in a high-quality game of football hearkening back to the glory days of Broncos-Cowboys clashes.
And getting the wood over the Cowboys in the longest running Queensland derby in the NRL appeared to mean a lot to fullback Reece Walsh, who scored what appeared to be a decisive try in the 72nd minute.
After a break down the right edge from the Broncos, a pass from Kotoni Staggs which would have put halfback Jock Madden in under the posts was knocked down by Cowboys fullback Scott Drinkwater, only for the ball to land in Walsh’s hands.
The fullback, who finished with 185 run metres from 13 runs as well as two line break assists, ran the final 20m to score when the emotion overwhelmed him.
A jubilant Walsh looked, pointed and blew a kiss to the sky before his teammates swamped him.
