Does it really matter ?

Broncos Win NRL 2006...

Brisbane beat Melbourne 15-8 to win the Australian National Rugby League grand final at Sydney's Olympic Stadium.

Brisbane led 8-4 at halftime.With 20 minutes to go, the scores were locked at 8-8, but the Broncos finished strongest with replacement Corey Parker kicking a penalty, centre Brent Tate scoring a try and captain Darren Lockyer landing a field goal to seal the victory.

Lockyer also booted two first half goals while fullback Justin Hodges scored Brisbane's first try.

Hooker Shaun Berrigan won the Clive Churchill medal as player of the match.Darren and Shaun were the two standout players last night for the Broncos.

Melbourne, who won the premiership in 1999, went into the match as slight favourites after finishing the regular season eight points clear at the top of the table.

They scored an early try through winger Steve Turner and a second half touchdown from centre Matt King to draw level, but were unable to respond to Brisbane's late surge.

The Broncos claimed their sixth title in 15 seasons and their first since 2000 making Wayne Bennett the most successful coach in Australian rugby league history. Shane Webcke got the fairytale ending to his illustrious career.

The game though was marked with some dubious decisions that all seemed to go the Broncos way. Even the Broncos will admit it.

The NRL grand final should have been a great match, but the fact that it wasn’t had nothing to do with the players, their coaches or the fans. It all came down to dud refereeing.

Paul Simpkins had a shocker. Several rulings in the first half were questionable, including an early penalty to the Broncos that gave them a 2-0 lead. But nothing was as bad as the one in the 60th minute.

Plenty of grumbles came, too, minutes later when the video refs Bill Harrigan and Chris Ward ruled against a Storm try because of a knock-on. Storm fans disputed it, but at least the ruling was properly checked even if plenty believe it was wrong.

Matches hinge on such blunders, particularly late in a close game as confidence acts to overcome tiring bodies.

All this kind of left a bitter taste, though it was a very competitive and thrilling game.

Broncos Rock, Guys !!!

posted by Sreedhar @ Monday, October 02, 2006