With less than an 11-minute lead, the Brisbane Broncos were on their way to a rousing victory that would lessen the pressure on their competitive coach.
Anthony Seibold’s team had performed an improved, spirited performance against an injured Sharks team and held an eight-point lead at Suncorp Stadium.
They also had the option of pinning the sharks deep in their own territory after they forced the line target to fail.
Then everything went terribly wrong.
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Bronco’s nine-minute nightmare
1:21
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Over the next nine minutes, the Broncos imploded spectacularly – they gave up the game and slumped into a defeat that could be critical to whether Seibold would continue playing at the end of the season.
The brave sharks recognized the need to roll the dice and decided to take a short break.
Wade Graham only attacked Joe Ofahenague after the ball to be the first to get there. He threw himself back to his teammate Tom Dearden, who had the simple task of collecting the Steeden and getting the Broncos back on the attack and regaining control.
The young half, however, kept an eye on the rushing Graham and spilled his lollipops.
It was the turning point in the game.
The Sharks attacked and, in the resulting set, scored Shaun Johnson with a silky catch and pass on William Kennedy who cornered Sione Katoa.
Sharks breathtaking match winners
0:33
Johnson converted and the gap was reduced to two points in eight minutes.
The sharks were back three minutes later.
Bogged down halfway in the fifth duel – the sharks changed arms again – Graham caught the Broncos on the short side with a brilliant run and pass before Ronaldo Mulitalo Conor Tracey gave a perfect cross field kick. The rookie halfback picked up the ball and rushed over to bring the Sharks forward.
The Broncos desperately made a brief restart, but were unable to recapture the property.
A set restart and four tackles later Braden Hamlin-Uele crashed to win the comeback and seal the Broncos’ misery.
While the Broncos undoubtedly performed significantly better, it was actually another defeat and another terrible last 20 minutes.
Last month it was reported that Anthony Seibold was told he had to win five of the remaining ten Broncos games to save his job.
Broncos press conference
6:16
The ultimatum has been heavily refuted at Red Hill, but a full review of the club and Seibolds will follow the season and it will undoubtedly need more than the meager three wins the club is currently sitting on.
And they are facing a run home that they do no favor.
In the eight remaining games of the Broncos they compete against the Roosters, Eels, Panthers and Raiders – all teams fight for the NRL title.
The other four clashes encounter a south team that was boosted by a comeback win on round 12, an improved kite side, a titan team that proved to be no easy strikes, and the cowboys.
It’s hard to tell where five wins will come from. The sharks should have been one of them.
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