Croft finds his voice as Broncos find their mojo

Broncos halfback Brodie Croft made an emphatic statement about how he can make the side’s new spine hum with a dominant display in the 28-21 win over the Cowboys in Townsville.

Anthony Seibold knew what he was getting when he signed Croft from Melbourne and he delivered with an accomplished performance in attack where he ignited the right side in the lead-up to Kotoni Staggs’ first-half try.

In the second half it was an inch perfect cross-field kick that led to a try to Tevita Pangai Jnr.

Croft freed Anthony Milford up to do his thing at five-eighth and fullback Jamayne Isaako chimed in to the backline stylishly in his most consistent performance of the past 12 months.

“Brodie did a fantastic job leading the team around the park and one of the reasons I made him co-captain with Pat Carrigan was because we wanted him to find his voice in attack and be confident in doing that,” Seibold said.

“I thought he combined really well with Milford. That is one of the reasons why I wanted to buy Brodie.

"I could see really clearly over the last 12 months that we needed to get some help for Milf and Tom Dearden.

“Taking those attacking general responsibilities away from Milf frees him up. I just want him to take the line and if he sees something to take it, and he has a really effective kicking game.”

Isaako was on fire in both halves as he scored a try, set up a try and made two line break assists.

“Jamayne Isaako, considering he found out he was starting at fullback only two days ago, had an exceptional game,” Seibold said.

“He struggled with cramps at the end but had a fantastic game.

“He played some good footy at different times last year but I think that was his most consistent performance across 80 minutes and a good starting point for him in that position.

“The more we play together the better cohesion we will build.”

Seibold said that considering his side was without Matt Lodge, Joe Ofahengaue, Alex Glenn and Jack Bird it was one of his proudest moments as coach of the Broncos.

“I don’t think too many people thought we would win from what I understand, and probably rightly so, considering we were without experienced leaders and had a horrendous injury a couple of days ago to Jack,” Seibold said.

“The guys were really calm and composed and I had a really good feeling with regards to our preparation this week. The thing I would like to reflect on is our scramble defence, our kick-chase and all the little things I look for in a team and value.”