It was a case of practice makes perfect for Anthony Milford on Friday night as he slotted an 85th-minute extra-time field goal to give the Brisbane Broncos a thrilling 21-20 win over the North Queensland Cowboys.
Milford starred for Brisbane, scoring one try and setting up another, but it was his third field goal in four games that ultimately delivered his team the two competition points.
With seconds remaining in the first half of extra-time, the five-eighth calmly called for ball on the 40-metre line and calmly slotted the goal to deliver Brisbane revenge over the team that beat them in last year's NRL grand final.
Milford regularly practices field goals after training and it continues to pay off for the 21-year-old as he leads the competition in 2016 with a 100 per cent strike rate.
He said kicking the field goal was one of the greatest moments of his career so far.
"I didn't strike the field goal that well, it kind of wobbled over. I hit it and it went towards the left post and it swung back in to the right," Milford said.
"We got a bit lucky in extra-time with a couple of tries disallowed and things like that, but luck was on our side and we came away with the win.
"As soon as we got into golden point I went over to Corey [Parker] and told him to get me within 50 metres and hope for the best. We did just that.
"It's a great moment for me because I've been practicing my field goals pretty regularly.
"That's the first one I've hit in a match from that far out. It comes down to a lot of practice that I've been working on at training and if I do need to slot one that's what I can do."
Friday night was Milford's fifth time playing in a Queensland derby since moving from the Canberra Raiders to Brisbane at the end of 2014 season.
The past three matches have been decided by four points or less and Milford said he couldn't believe how closely matched the two teams are.
"It's crazy. You only need to look at the fans to see how much it means to the people of Queensland," he said.
"There's no better feeling that playing in front of a packed Suncorp Stadium. To get the two points in front of a big crowd tonight, it's something special."
