Croc Hunter Bags A Debut Double

The Broncos have sounded an ominous warning to the 2002 Telstra Premiership contenders with a commanding 42-6 thrashing of a spirited but totally outclassed North Queensland Cowboys at Dairy Farmers Stadium in Townsville. After the match was hanging in the balance at 8-6 at half time, the Broncos blew the Cowboys off the park in the second running in 34 unanswered points. And the maestro of the Broncos' symphony was none other than Allan Langer, the 35-year-old veteran halfback who many critics said would not be able to cope with the NRL after two years in England.

The match started at a frenetic pace with both sides controlling the ball well and building some promising play. However it didn't take long for the Broncos to set up camp in the Cowboys' 20 metre zone and apply a tremendous amount of pressure. But buoyed by a big home crowd, the Cowboys repelled the Brisbane advances. Eventually the Broncos had to resort to the air, and Ashley Harrison placed a beautiful left foot bomb across field, rookie winger Matt Peterson losing the ball for the Cowboys, Shaun Berrigan cleaning up the dregs and feeding a ball to Steve Irwin, obviously nicknamed the Crocodile Hunter, to score untouched with his first touch of the ball on his first grade debut. Irwin had replaced Darren Lockyer who was left concussed from a sickening head clash early on.

Mick De Vere missed the conversion, but shortly after Allan Langer came to the fore. On attack 30 metres out, Langer ran to the line and fooled everybody with one of his trademark dummies, surging through. His little legs would have carried him the distance, but Langer has never been a selfish player and to ensure the 4 points were scored he fed a pass off to Irwin to score his second for an 8-0 lead.

The Broncos were constantly on the attack and it seemed to be a matter of time before the Cowboys cracked. However, they held firm and bustled the Broncos into uncharacteristic errors. Eventually the Cowboys got possession back and surged down field. Hooker George Gatis then combined with second rower Peter Jones who stood firm amidst three Broncos defenders to offload to State of Origin utility John Doyle to score. Josh Hannay converted beautifully from the sideline to be within 2 points.

The final 10 minutes of the first half were tense, but the scoreline didn't change. The question was whether the Cowboys, who had to make 40 more tackles than the Broncos, could recover from such a high workload in defence. The answer was no.

Not two minutes after half time, the Broncos were right on the attack after a Cowboys error. Langer, on the last, put in a cross field kick that bounced horribly for stand-in fullback Matthew Bowen, but beautifully for Broncos five-eighth Shaun Berrigan, who scored beside the posts. De Vere converted for a 14-6 lead. Minutes later the Broncos opened the Cowboys up out wide, and while the defence put Brent Tate on the ground, the rookie winger managed to get back to his feet and charge over from 10 metres out. De Vere converted from the sideline to give the Broncos some breathing space at 20-6.

From there it was a disaster for the Cowboys. Captain Gorden Tallis, returning from much publicised neck surgery last year, went within inches of scoring, and on the next play Langer put lock Ashley Harrison through a yawning gap to score. From the kick off, Harrison was in the action again, offloading brilliantly to Lockyer who fumbled but regathered then put down the accelerator. The defence converged but Lockyer had Berrigan in support who showed a clean pair of heals to score near the posts for a 32-6 lead.

In the mid-90s the Broncos had the Ipswich Connection with Langer, Kevin and Kerrod Walters, but in 2002 it's the Warrington Connection. Allan Langer and Andrew Gee, who spent two seasons with Warrington in the English Super League, combined from close range, Langer sending the big prop over for a 38-6 lead. It was Gee's 11th try in more than 200 first grade games. Soon after, centre Stuart Kelly capped off a solid game with a good try out wide to bring up the 40. De Vere failed to convert but the Broncos ran out winners 42-6, their most convincing season opening victory in the club's history.

Despite the scoreline, the Cowboys were not disgraced. They simply paid the price for too many handling errors and giving away cheap back-to-back sets of six. Their defence suffered and they began falling off tackles, particularly the big forwards, led tonight by Petero Civoniceva. Normally the second fiddle player to Shane Webcke, Civoniceva led the forward pack brilliantly, making a solid 20 metre break at one point and making numerous other valuable hit up contributions. Webcke, Brad Meyers, Gee, Corey Parker and Tallis were also powerhouses up front, with Harrison was absolutely stunning in defence, ending more than his fair share of Cowboys attacking raids in the first half.

The Broncos' backline gelled beautifully in the second half after a patchy opening 40 minutes, Langer steering them around magnificently. Berrigan was dangerous whenever he ran the ball, and the young guns Tate and Irwin were outstanding out wide. Lote Tuqiri had a quiet night, but the close marking he received from the Cowboys opened the opportunities for his young counterparts. Lockyer had a horror night, being smashed at every opportunity by the Cowboys but he still caused his fair share of problems in attack and didn't put a foot wrong in defence. Kelly and De Vere formed a solid centre pairing, with both having some quality touches in attack. Kelly's strong defence was the most pleasing aspect. The only question mark on the Broncos' play was the service out of dummyhalf, and unfortunately Shane Walker failed to carry on his trial form in this area. However, his defence in the ruck was solid.

The Cowboys were outgunned, and their cause wasn't helped when they lost Tim Brasher early with a knee injury. After missing all of last season with a similar injury it would be a tragedy if he suffers a similar fate in 2002. However, in his absence his players tried their hearts out and should be pleased with their effort, if not the result. John Buttigieg, George Gatis and Jamie McDonald formed a strong front row and they did their jobs well. John Doyle and Matt Bowen proved dangerous in attack. However, they will have to improve greatly on that effort to trouble defending premiers Newcastle next weekend.

When Langer was interchanged at the 60th minute in the corresponding match in 1999, his face told the story of a man unhappy with what he was doing and unsure about his future. He was interchanged a few minutes later in this match, but his demeanour was poles apart. It was as though Alf had never left, directing play like the master he is and considering Lockyer had a hard night of concussion and lack of room to move, it was a good sign that the Broncos' attacking machine was still at its best.

It was a strong performance from the Broncos, but it's far too early to get carried away. Blowouts have been the story of the weekend, and the Cowboys, with all due respect, aren't in the same class as Brisbane's next opponents, the Bulldogs. The Dogs suffered a 28-22 loss at the hands of the Wests Tigers which will have fired them up and the Broncos will need to be at their best next week to continue their good early form - and to avenge last season's embarassing defeat at ANZ Stadium.

Play of the Day

Andrew Gee (Broncos) was, according to Wally Lewis, set to be dumped from the Front Rowers Union after running down fullback Matt Bowen in the second half. The livewire young Cowboy fancied his chances at getting around the big Broncos' prop, but Gee made a copybook cover defending tackle. It was a sign of the determination Gee has to not only stay in the 17, but to force his way into the 13.