That Killer Instinct Returns

During all of the Broncos' premiership seasons, one undeniable mindset drove them. When they had an opponent down, they pummeled them into submission. Early in 2001 that killer instinct seemed to be missing. In all four games the Broncos have got on a roll at some stage but let their foot off the accelerator and let their opponents back in the contest. Against Newcastle, that killer instinct was back.

And they did it the hard way. The smoke from the fireworks had barely cleared as Darren Albert touched down in the right corner after the Broncos put themselves under early pressure kicking out on the full from the kick off. After a farcical bat back from Wendell Sailor, where the ball bounced half a metre over the touch line but the touch judge allowed play on, the Knights had another attacking opportunity thanks to a penalty and Albert crashed over under Justin Hodges' tackle. Andrew Johns missed the conversion.

Johns made up for it soon after with a penalty goal to extend the lead to 6-0. Newcastle were cutting the Broncos defence open at will and it seemed they were set to repeat their Parramatta demolition.

However, the Broncos haven't been unbeaten at home for 18 months by surrendering after an early setback. Gradually they worked themselves into the contest with a solid hit up regime and good kick and chase. Petero Civoniceva capitalised when he leapt over two defenders to plant the ball under the posts in the 16th minute to level the scores.

A blistering break by Michael De Vere put the Broncos on the attack again, the Knights penalised for offside shortly after. Bill Harrigan penalised them again when they knocked the ball away. De Vere kicked the penalty for an 8-6 lead. Johns levelled again shortly after, the Broncos pinged for being offside. After 30 minutes, the teams couldn't be split. But something was brewing.

With just minutes to go to half time, the Knights fumbled out wide and some quick hands sent Wendell Sailor away up the middle. He was brought down 20 metres out but the Knights could not recover. A beautiful face ball from Ikin - similar to one that sent Chris Walker careering away, only to step into touch earlier - sent Lote Tuqiri over to level Sailor's tryscoring tally, but more importantly put the Broncos ahead 14-8 at half time.

After the break, both sides started powerfully and defended well. Brisbane again were on the front foot when De Vere made another break down the left. Hodges ran the ball up and was dangerously flipped by Bill Peden and Ben Kennedy, Harrigan rightly penalising them. De Vere landed the conversion to extend the lead to 8 points.

From the kick off the Broncos worked the ball out. Dane Carlaw miraculously offloaded to Sailor, who passed inside to Chris Walker. Walker stepped Peden pointless, darting to full pace instantly and then performing a beautiful in and away on Robbie O'Davis, the former Test fullback unable to lay a hand on him until the ball was planted after a scintillating 60 metre burst. Worse for O'Davis, the effort resulted in a torn hamstring. De Vere failed to convert but the lead was out to 12 points.

Luke Priddis, one of the Broncos most consistent players for three seasons, was rewarded with a dubious try shortly after. On the last, Priddis turned the ball right to Ashley Harrison who fell, and was seemingly held as he offloaded to Priddis who dived over untouched. Harrigan awarded the try without consultation with his touch judges, much to the dismay of Kennedy who had a firm grip on Harrison. De Vere converted and the match was most certainly over.

Hodges, who dropped a swirling bomb early in the second half on his own goal line, was rewarded with a try soon after. Brisbane had the Knights run ragged and they spread the ball wide, Hodges fending off Johns like a ragdoll, crashing over in the corner.

De Vere missed the conversion but had the crowd on their feet soon after. The Knights were deep on attack, but Sean Rudder sent a wild pass out wide, De Vere swooping on the loose pass with nothing but wide open spaces in front of him. Albert gave chase, the two speedsters in an awesome contest. Albert's last ditch diving trysaver pulled De Vere short just five metres. However, there was no support for Albert, and Shaun Berrigan passed to Hodges to cross unopposed for a 36-8 lead.

To say star signing Scott Prince has been lacking confidence would be an understatement. He was thrown into the contest with just 10 minutes left and with his first touch, stepped straight through Josh Perry and Julian Bailey to score a Langer-esque try behind the uprights, much to his delight. De Vere converted for the final score of 42-8.

Despite the official crowd figure being just over 22000, the atmosphere was electric, and the Broncos thanked their loyal supporters with a warm lap of honour.

Brisbane did not have a bad player, and they were served by a host of stars. None were better than Ben Ikin who continues to grow with confidence with each match. Ikin controlled play beautifully, his kicking game, his passing game, he took on the line and took all the pressure off Berrigan from making the plays. That left Berrigan to do what he does best - busting the line, and he was as dangerous as ever. As a result, Hodges, Tuqiri, Sailor, De Vere and particularly Chris Walker were sensational out wide.

The platform was laid beautifully by Brisbane's powerhouse pack. The front row was just brutal, and it was no surprise that both Newcastle props suffered early injuries and were completely ineffectual, as was hooker Danny Buderus. Shane Webcke, Luke Priddis and Petero Civoniceva were unstoppable, and when they got tired on came Carl Webb and Brad Meyers to continue the carnage. In the back row, Gorden Tallis, Dane Carlaw and Ashley Harrison were excellent in attack and defence.

On the other side of the coin, it was hard to pick a decent Newcastle performance. The pick of a sorry bunch was O'Davis. He made a number of trysaving tackles that undoubtedly prevented the scoreline blowing out beyond 50. Bill Peden and Matt Parsons could also hold their heads high. Unfortunately for Newcastle, the Johns-Rudder combination was just woeful, resulting in poor outings by Albert, Tahu, Mark Hughes and Adam MacDougall. And up front the news was no better, the pack completely dominated by their opponents.

It was a Bronco performance of such dominance that it had to make other sides take notice. Brisbane had been puttering along in second gear, but they finally found the clutch and shifted up a level. But with Darren Lockyer to return, they're only going to get better.