Wests Tigers 18
Darren Lockyer turned Good Friday into a great one for Brisbane as the veteran superstar led the Broncos to a 31-18 win over the Wests Tigers at the Sydney Football Stadium.
In what could be his last visit to a venue he has dominated for Brisbane, Queensland and Australia, Lockyer toyed with the Tigers as the Broncos showed there was plenty of attack to go with their impregnable defence.
Four first-half tries had seemingly got Brisbane home, but when the home side got back within seven points with 28 minutes left to go, Lockyer asserted his authority like only Lockyer can.
He ducked down a short blind side from a scrum win to seal the Broncos' sixth win from seven games.
What was billed as potentially the final NRL clash between the retiring Lockyer and Benji Marshall turned into a non-event as the old master dominated - Marshall hardly sighted in an uninspired performance.
While the Broncos started well, there was little evidence of the avalanche that was about to ensue when a high-flying Jharal Yow Yeh left a stranded Tim Moltzen looking like a lamp post to kick-start proceedings.
Alex Glenn then did just enough to reach the line before Sam Thaiday threw off Benji Marshall in a powerful run to cross the tryline and cap an 18-point spree in the space of eight minutes.
A Jack Reed fumble inside his own 20 then allowed Robert Lui to set Moltzen on the way for his first of the night and it seemed as though the Tigers had regrouped.
But any momentum they may have seized evaporated when a Beau Ryan clanger - coughing up the ball on his own line - gifted Peter Wallace another Broncos touchdown before Lockyer added a field goal to cap a dominant first half.
Amazingly against a Broncos side which had conceded just one second half try all year, the Tigers were back in the contest within 15 minutes of the restart thanks to four-pointers to Lui and Moltzen, Lockyer livid at the referees for ignoring his claims of an obstruction in the lead-up to the latter.
Lockyer's protests had nothing on the urgings of the Tigers faithful in the 19,494-strong crowd, whose voices grew as the points piled up on the scoreboard, but there was no denying the Broncos master, who crossed 12 minutes from time.
Brisbane 31 (A Glenn D Lockyer S Thaiday P Wallace J Yow Yeh tries C Parker 5 goals D Lockyer field goal) bt Wests Tigers 18 (T Moltzen 2 R Lui tries B Marshall 3 goals) at Sydney Football Stadium. Referee: Tony Archer, Brett Suttor. Crowd: 19,494.
- AAP
