Cobbo bags three as Broncos down Knights

A hat-trick of tries to rookie sensation Selwyn Cobbo helped Brisbane to a 28-10 victory over Newcastle on Saturday night, which keeps their hopes of a top-four finish alive.   

After dominating the opening 40 minutes to lead 18-0, Brisbane allowed the Knights back into the match in the second period before Cobbo's double inside the final 10 minutes ensured they picked up their 13th victory of the season. 

The win lifts Brisbane to sixth position ahead of a crucial meeting with the fourth-placed Storm in round 23, while also boosting their points differential which is the second-worst among current top-eight sides. 

Cobbo, who also carried the ball for a touch under 200 metres and broke nine tackles, wasn't the only Broncos back to impress, with Te Maire Martin looking sharp in his return to the No.1 jersey with two try assists in the first half. 

It took 18 minutes for the hosts to get going via Cobbo, before they scored their second and third in quick succession through Corey Oates and Mam, who finished a special try which saw him link with Martin in a 70-metre effort. 

But the second period was a different story and the Knights were, for much of it, the better side, hitting back with tries to Daniel Saifiti and powerful centre Bradman Best.

But as the game sat in the balance, Bronco-turned-Knight Anthony Milford made a critical error when he kicked out on the full, and minutes late Brisbane engineered a second for Cobbo, with his third a short time later sealing the deal. 

Match snapshot

• Selwyn Cobbo's hat-trick lifted him to 15 tries in 2022, with the winger also registering nine tackle breaks. 
• Brisbane prop Thomas Fleger was placed on report for a high tackle inside the opening 10 minutes of the match, while fellow forward Kobe Hetherington failed an HIA following a head clash with Sauaso Sue in the second half. 
• Newcastle missed 41 tackles, with Dane Gagai and Adam Clune coming up with five misses each. 
• Despite the victory, the Broncos made 15 errors and gave away six penalties. 
• Brisbane have won five of their last six against the Knights at Suncorp Stadium

Play of the game

Beautiful link play between the Brisbane No.1 and No.6, ending in a wonderful 70-metre team try. After Mam broke the line originally and streaked clear, he found Martin looming in support. Just as it looked like Martin was going to be tackled short of the line, he spun and found his five-eighth backing up once again, passing to let Mam do the rest. 

What they said

"I thought we made some good progress tonight in a lot of areas. There is still a lot of work to be done and a lot of improvement in us, but we got the win and I saw enough signs there tonight that we can do some good things in the next couple of weeks." - Broncos coach Kevin Walters.  

"We tried our backsides off. It was a young team we had, we had a lot of personnel out. We just lacked a bit of polish in good ball, we had enough footy to probably trouble them there in the first half... I can't fault their effort." - Knights coach Adam O'Brien. 

What's next

Brisbane are home to the Storm on Friday night, in a clash which could decide whether or not the Broncos' top-four hopes remain alive heading into the final fortnight of the regular season. 

The Knights are back at home next Sunday against the Raiders at McDonald Jones Stadium.