Morgan erased any fears by leading the Cowboys to their one point win.
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Steve Jackson was the last player into Canberra’s grand final side after he played in the reserve grade grand final.
The Broncos had a 14-12 halftime lead after a frantic first half in which four tries were scored, two in the opening 10 minutes.
Jason Taumalolo 7 Attracted multiple defenders at times, but not his usual blockbusting best. If he nailed it, the Cowboys would win.
Yet the bookies have both teams virtually even heading into Sunday’s match at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium after the Cowboys enjoyed a strong season inspired by captain Johnathan Thurston.
Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett refused to blame Hunt for the loss, but instead took aim at the the golden point rule.
The crucial moment: on the buzzer, Kyle Feldt plants the ball in the corner after a miracle run by Michael Morgan, set up by Thurston, to leave the score tied at 16-all.
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Johnathan Thurston has hailed North Queensland’s maiden NRL premiership as the crowning achievement of his career after putting the finishing touch on one of the most complete CVs in rugby league history.
The football action began mid-afternoon as temperatures climbed into the mid-30s, with Penrith beating Manly 34-18 in the Holden Cup decider, before another Queensland side, Ipswich, overcame Newcastle 26-12 in the State Championship.
RUGBY league fans have been urged to take it easy on the drink this weekend, ahead of the all-Queensland NRL Grand Final.
But more was to come straight from the restart when Broncos winger Corey Oates raced 80 metres to score after a break from the outstanding Anthony Milford.
The final will also serve as a send-off for retiring Broncos captain Justin Hodges, who successfully challenged a unsafe throw charge and was cleared to play this week.
North Queensland made an art form of hauling in double-figure deficits throughout 2015; they were slow out of the blocks again in the preliminary final, but a below-par Melbourne side let them get away with it.
“They’ve (his teammates) sacrificed so much throughout the year…it was a team effort throughout the year”.
He now only needs to lead his club to victory in next February’s World Club Series, of which the Cowboys’ opponents, the Super League premiers, in the showpiece match is yet to be decided. Made one of the all-time great grand final offloads with no time left on the clock to put Feldt over.
The Broncos landed in Brisbane about midday, with about 100 fans waiting at the airport.
Two tries each in a highly entertaining first half.
Hodges said he would never have been able to recover from the disappointment of missing the grand final if he was rubbed out.
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While the Broncos’ premiership drought continues for a ninth consecutive season, for Bennett it is his record-equalling fifth consecutive year without premiership success.
