The Ridiculous Last 12 Months Of Broncos Vs Cowboys Games
Forget State of Origin, the best rivalry in rugby league right now is between the Broncos and Cowboys. Jamie Wall looks back on the last 12 months of the Queensland Derby.
The Brisbane Broncos and North Queensland Cowboys have played each other five times since the start of the 2015 NRL Finals. Three of those matches have been decided by one point, and three went to extra time. One was the 2015 Grand Final, which went to extra time AND was decided by a single point. The battle for bragging rights in Australia’s Sunshine State is producing some of the best games of rugby league ever seen in the modern era. Here’s how the best rivalry in rugby league right now has played out since Week 1 of the Finals last year:
2015 Qualifying Final: Broncos 16-12 Cowboys
Glory goes to those who honour the past. With the Broncos wearing a their throwback heritage jerseys, a piece of Ben Hunt magic opened up the Cowboys for the first try in front of a packed Suncorp Stadium. Antonio Winterstein hit back for the visitors, but Anthony Milford scorched in to make sure the Cowboys were playing catch up for just long enough. It was the sweet white collars that made all the difference.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sF3VBVoivc
2015 Grand Final: Cowboys 17-16 Broncos (Golden Point)
The game where Johnathan Thurston went from hero to zero to hero in the space of five minutes. Poor Ben Hunt just went straight to zero. Before the dramatic finish and golden point hysteria, the match started with a length of the field try to Corey Oates on the very first play. The Cowboys managed to regain their composure to hit back through Justin O’Neill and James Tamou, before Jack Reed and Corey Parker’s boot seemed to have given the Broncos the Premiership. Then… well, watch what happened in the end of perhaps the greatest Grand Final ever.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVAQuRC5qlY
2016 Round 4: Broncos 21-20 Cowboys (Golden Point)
(Bitter)sweet revenge. It wouldn’t have made up for the Grand Final loss, but a golden point reversal in front of 50,000 home fans was as close as the Broncos were going to get. Milford again blasted through the Cowboys line to get on the scoreboard early, but it was Parker’s boot again that did the bulk of the scoring before James Roberts scored late. In reply, Jake Granville, Michael Morgan and Ethan Lowe crossed for the Cowboys. In a perfect world it would’ve been Hunt that kicked the game winning field goal, but it was Milford – proving that he’s more than just a clean pair of heels. Must be something about those heritage jerseys?
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2016 Round 11: Cowboys 19-18 Broncos
Got your breath back? The venue now shifted to Townsville, where Matt Scott got the home crowd out of their seats early after he crossed for a try. Grand Final hero Kyle Feldt duffed two kickoffs in a row, and the Broncos cashed in with two Matt Gillett tries. Jordan Kahu pushed the lead out to 10 before the Cowboys mounted their comeback, first through Lachlan Coote then O’Neill. Thurston didn’t want to work overtime that night, calmly slotting a field goal with five minutes to play to snatch the win.
2016 Qualifying Final: Cowboys 26-20 Broncos (Extra Time)
The final chapter in a year of pulsating encounters even had an extra time postscript. After a range of uncharacteristically sloppy play from the Cowboys and characteristically excellent goal kicking from Parker, the Broncos should’ve sealed this one early. But O’Neill decided to get himself re-acquainted with the tryline, dotting down twice and giving the Cowboys the lead. Oates then struck back for the visitors, then Thurston levelled the scores for yet another extra time period. This time new rules meant it wasn’t a field goal that separated the teams, but it was still Thurston plunging in the dagger, setting up the match winner with a spectacular pass to Michael Morgan.
Comments on RugbyPass
RIP big man 🙏
1 Go to commentsThe GB coach. “Just because we don’t get together as much as other teams we don’t use that as an excuse for performances when we don’t hit the mark”. Why mention it at all then?
1 Go to commentsNo mention of the yellow card for Harlequins which really cost them.
3 Go to commentsThought you’d left us Nick. Good to have you back writing for us. So hunter ikitau works? I reckon wright kellaway as two of the back 3. Tim Ryan and Toole looking good for strike winger but I still want the power of korobeiti and figure our forwards still need him to help them out. Million dollar question is who plays 10? I’m thinking Noah for his kicking and combo with wright. Reckon the pair adds up to an attack and kellaway will help. Can you comment on Zac Lucas in Japan? How is he going?
1 Go to commentsMack Hansen, Ethan Roots, Taine Plumbtree, Louis Lynagh, Emmanuel Meafou? Which country do you want to pick your Barbarians from?
3 Go to commentsInstead of apologising, try to act like an adult, fcknut.
3 Go to commentsLooks like the Force twisted his leg…ahem arm
5 Go to commentsScotland should change their name to the Barbarians
3 Go to commentsThe game was already over leave the bloke alone ….from a Welsh fan 😀👍
3 Go to commentsShamefully the Toulouse players acted like footballers, falling down feigning injury at the slightest knock. About time refs penalised this play acting.
8 Go to commentsAnother non Scot for the anti Scot Townsend. Soon there will be no Scottish born and bred players in the National team.
3 Go to commentsGreat comeback to the playing field by Richie Mo’unga after the loss of his father. A great performance by Richie . I know him well and he is a great guy. On and off the field one of the greatest for the Crusaders. Scott Robertson would have loved him in his All Black’s side. A very missed player and person.
2 Go to commentsYeah nah he comes across as a funny bloke, but that stopped abruptly after the Nutcracker Prince debacle✋
3 Go to commentsAt this point I can’t watch him without thinking he’s a dirty slimebag. He should have been banned for the same amount of time that Quinn was out. It took Tupaea near on a fricking year to get fit enough to play again and his leg will never be the same. The other crap thing is that he was at ABs level and now he has to claw his way back there when he could have had several games under his belt.
5 Go to commentsThe Black Ferns 7’s have been without Captain Sarah Hirini now since Dec 23 in Dubai where she suffered a bad ACL injury - hopefully she is on the road to recovery for Madrid and Paris. Now also have Tyler King and Shiray kaka on the Injured List but the Team still found a way to win in Singapore and claim the overall Title.
1 Go to commentsUtter grub, hope he gets his leg broken. Shocking he is still playing after intentionally breaking quinn tupaeas knee
5 Go to commentsGreat to see NZ 7s teams finally coming into form and playing at the level that is expected of them.
2 Go to commentsChief Cheapshot on the market again.
5 Go to commentsCrusaders went all in to buy Hotham and Kemara staight from Hamilton Boys. Then they picked up Reihana and Hohepa; all have been dropped for superstar Havili, who is a very good fullback, that’s it. Ennor and Goodhue were schoolboy stars too but went backwards at the Crusaders. Maybe they have finally decided to give another poach Levi Aumua the ball?
16 Go to commentsJoe S has some talent to pick from. The Reds loosies look the best in Super? Aus might just give Razor a headache this year. Int. experience v Cantab greenhorn:) Should be fun.
16 Go to comments