The Broncos defeated the Roosters 24-6 at a wet Bluetongue Stadium in Round 6 last year.
Both sides found the going tough early on in the heavy conditions, with the only points in the opening half hour a penalty goal to Corey Parker for a modest 2-nil lead to the visitors. However, back-to-back tries to the Broncos inside the final 10 minutes of the first half saw them head to the sheds with a commanding 12-nil lead: first Jharal Yow-Yeh crossed out wide on the right side of the field before Dale Copley stepped inside the Roosters’ cover defence to score his first try of the evening in the left corner on the stroke of halftime.
Two more unanswered tries in the opening 20 minutes of the second half, to Copley and Ben Hannant – both from grubber kicks and Roosters mistakes in the greasy conditions – saw Brisbane extend their lead to 24-nil.
The Roosters rallied soon after, with BJ Leilua finishing off a right-side sweep to post their first (and only) points with 11 minutes remaining.
Completions let the Roosters down – they got through just 21 of 34 sets (62 per cent). By comparison the Broncos completed 31 of their 40 sets (78 per cent) which helped them grind out 397 metres more than their opponents.
Justin Hodges was devastating for the Broncos, making 19 runs and 154 metres with two offloads, while the Roosters were well-served by prop Martin Kennedy (11 hit-ups, 113 metres and 34 tackles) and hooker Jake Friend (45 tackles).
