Civoniceva injured as Broncos hold out Cowboys
by Chris Cox
Saturday April 17, 2004

A Craig Frawley trysaver on a flying Matt Bowen has helped the Broncos escape with a 19-12 win over the North Queensland Cowboys in front of almost 26000 fans at Dairy Farmers Stadium in Townsville.  With the game in the balance at 18-12 with six minutes left, Frawley managed to hold Bowen up in goal when a try seemed certain and his team fast tiring in the oppressive tropical heat.

Bowen had received a brilliant Travis Norton offload 35 metres out and was at full pace as he and Frawley collided on the try line. Frawley managed to wrap up the ball and roll Bowen onto his back, then throwing in a one-on-one strip into the bargain to prevent what could have been the match equalling try.

It was a crucial play as the Broncos were effectively reduced to a two-man bench after Petero Civoniceva suffered a knee injury midway through the second half and Sam Thaiday unable to come on due to lack of replacements available. Brisbane's forwards were tiring and the chances of them withstanding a Golden Point period was remote.

For Civoniceva the injury could not come at a worse time. Just 24 hours after the birth of his first child, Civoniceva writhed in agony as a Cowboys player landed on top of his right knee, which he injured during the preseason. Test selection is due Sunday night, and Civoniceva was widely tipped to be one of the starting props.

He will be hoping the injury is not as bad as first thought, with initial indications looking at another medial ligament strain which typically rules players out for 4 to 6 weeks.

The Broncos rode home on the back of a brilliant start in which they leapt to a 12-0 lead in just 8 minutes.  Brent Tate scored first after Bowen amazingly knocked the ball out of Tonie Carroll's grasp just metres out from the line, only for Tate to be on hand to score.  Gorden Tallis charged onto a Brett Seymour short ball moments later.

Glenn Morrison forced his way over from close range before Shaun Berrigan, denied once by Paul Bowman knocking the ball free as he went to score, made no mistake a second time to give Brisbane a 16-4 half time lead.

A shocking opening 20 minutes of the second half from both sides with error upon error allowed the Broncos to extend the lead to 14 points when De Vere landed a penalty goal, but the Cowboys hit back when Kevin Campion crossed after a Frawley mistake returning a kick 10 metres out.  Frawley was upended by Micheal Luck and lost the ball, Campion crossing on the following play after Karmichael Hunt did well to prevent Bowman scoring immediately.

Josh Hannay landed the conversion and a penalty goal setting up a thrilling finish.

However, after Frawley's heroics, man of the match Darren Lockyer sealed the win with a 15 metre field goal. Lockyer's kicking game as magnificent throughout, countless times breaking the Broncos out from deep within their own half during a tense second half.

Earlier in the day, the Toowoomba Clydesdales continued their winning ways with a 46-6 win over Brothers Valleys in Toowoomba.  Motu Tony, recovering from a knee injury, was one of nine try scorers for the Broncos' affiliate. If Tony fails to earn Test selection for New Zealand tomorrow, he will be crucial as the Broncos battle Penrith at Suncorp Stadium on ANZAC Day next Sunday.