Win after bin: Walsh, Carrigan face nervous MRC wait
Joel Gould |
Brisbane will sweat on the charge sheet for lock Pat Carrigan and star fullback Reece Walsh after both were sin-binned before the Broncos stormed home to beat Canberra 29-28 in golden point in an extraordinary qualifying final.
The Broncos will host a preliminary final against either Canterbury or Penrith in a fortnight and will hope both of their guns are on board.
Carrigan was sin-binned in the 56th minute and put on report in the national capital on Sunday for a dangerous tackle on Morgan Smithies that led to the Raiders forward leaving the field with a category-two HIA, which he later passed.
“Going to the sin bin is not ideal, but I thought I had a head clash with him,” Carrigan said post-match.
“He’s got a tough head. I felt my jaw and bit my lip.”
Asked if he was concerned about missing the preliminary final, Carrigan said: “We will just wait and see.”
The Carrigan binning came three minutes after Walsh head-butted Raiders hard man Hudson Young, who had antagonised him seconds earlier. Both were binned.
Jeered by Canberra fans, Walsh stuck his tongue out before flipping the bird.
Walsh’s absence cost the Broncos, as the Raiders scored twice to take their lead to 28-12.
He returned to flip the game on its head with a try, a try assist for winger Josiah Karapani, a crucial 40/20 and an 80th-minute penalty goal to take the match to extra time and then golden point, where Ben Hunt did the rest with a stunning field goal.
“I was disappointed in myself. I am glad the chocolates went my way,” Walsh told Fox League post-match when asked about his sin-binning.
Walsh’s actions against Young will be reviewed by the MRC. There was debate over whether he should have been sent from the field.
“Well, they’ve set a precedent now, you’re allowed to headbutt,” Raiders coach Ricky Stuart said.
“If Joe (Tapine) or Hudson had used their head on Reece Walsh, what do you think would have happened to them?
“They got it 100 per cent wrong, but we shouldn’t make it about that because it was an unbelievable promotion of the game itself.”
Broncos coach Michael Maguire said it was just a case of finals passion between Young and Walsh.
“They were at each other. There is emotion out there,” he said.
“They were both sent for a reason … so you move on.”
Walsh set up the first try for Kotoni Staggs and from that point owned the game and the moments that counted.
The Broncos had been rocked at halftime with news that starting second-rower Brendan Piakura had suffered a suspected fractured cheekbone.
It was worse for the Broncos, with star prop Payne Haas suffering an ankle injury late in the first half.
He returned after the break but was limping at times. He left the field in the 66th minute and bravely returned.
“He’s good. He’s a machine and keeps battling on,” Maguire said.
The Broncos have the cavalry ready to return ahead of the preliminary final.
Captain Adam Reynolds is the big one. His hamstring injury has taken time to heal, with one minor setback already, and he will play as soon as given clearance.
Star playmaker Ezra Mam and exciting outside back Selwyn Cobbo, both nursing hamstring strains, are also edging closer to a return, likewise prop Xavier Willison (broken arm).
AAP
