Sydney Rooster 6
A supreme defensive display and a double to young winger Dale Copley swept Brisbane to a 24-6 NRL victory over Sydney Roosters at Gosford's Bluetongue Stadium on Saturday night.
In a clinical performance in atrocious conditions, Brisbane controlled the match and romped home off the back of Copley's double and further tries to Jharal Yow Yeh and Ben Hannant, while Corey Parker kicked four from five.
Torrential rain greeted the players and 8,616 brave fans when they arrived at the ground, and the Broncos handled the situation impressively.
From the outset they set the agenda, taking the early points on offer when Frank-Paul Nuuausala was penalised for a play-the-ball infringement.
It was a miserable night for Roosters coach Brian Smith, who also lost talented backrower Tom Symonds with what appeared to be a serious ankle injury.
The teams approached the match with contrasting styles - the Roosters were eager to chance their arm and play attacking football, while the Broncos stuck to their methodical, defensive gameplan.
As a result, the Roosters struggled to find any consistency and made 11 errors, while Darren Lockyer marshalled a fifth consecutive victory for the Broncos, who now sit alone at the top of the ladder.
Lockyer's deadly long kicking game - and some embarrassing mixups by the Roosters back three - resulted in second-half tries to Copley and Hannant.
Hannant scored his first try since 2009 in the 60th minute after Roosters fullback Anthony Minichiello and winger Justin Carney were unable to clean up a kick, allowing the big prop to dive on the loose ball.
Ten minutes earlier, it was Copley who benefited, scoring his second four-pointer after the ball ricocheted off a teammate's legs and into open space behind the tryline.
It capped a brilliant night for the youngster, who finished the first half with a try after excellent leadup work from Parker, Matt Gillett, Gerard Beale and Jack Reed.
The Roosters finally had some joy in the 67th minute, when winger BJ Leilua crossed to end Brisbane's impressive record of not conceded a second-half try in previous five matches.
Brisbane 24 (D Copley 2 B Hannant J Yow Yeh tries C Parker 4 goals) bt Sydney Roosters 6 (J Leilua try B Anasta goal) at Bluetongue Stadium. Referee: Matt Cecchin, Gavin Reynolds. Crowd: 8,616.
- AAP
