The Canberra Raiders’ 34-10 loss to the Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium was made worse by Jamal Fogarty’s potential season-ending injury.
The Broncos scored five unanswered tries in 19 minutes, led by a classy first-half double from Reece Walsh.
To make matters worse for the Raiders, halfback Fogarty was ruled out during the main break due to a suspected bicep muscle rupture. Simi Sasagi replaced him in both halves.
After the game, Raiders coach Ricky Stuart revealed that Fogarty’s best-case scenario is a 12-week layoff.
Hudson Young thought he had scored the first try for the Raiders before the Bunker determined he had knocked on the Steeden in the in-goal.
This enabled Walsh to steal the victory after racing downfield, leaving Matt Timoko and Chevy Stewart in his wake.
The Broncos went back-to-back, with Fletcher Baker launching to catch a cross-field kick from Ezra Mam and sending Jordan Riki over.
The high ball proved difficult for both teams in the wet conditions, as Corey Oates allowed an early bomb to bounce, resulting in a set reset for the Raiders, before rookie fullback Stewart fumbled two punts.
In the first instance, James Schiller was able to kick the ball out of Selwyn Cobbo’s grasp in a try-saving manoeuvre.
“That is as close as it comes,” Greg Alexander told Fox League’s broadcast of the close call.
However, the Raiders were unlucky the second time around, as Ezra Mam pounced and scored under the posts.
The Broncos didn’t let up, with Billy Walters jumping on his own grubber before Walsh dummied for his second.
The Broncos’ five-try blitz left the Raiders trailing 28-0 at halftime.
“What a nightmare for the Raiders,” Fox League commentator Andrew Voss remarked.
After 51 minutes, Sasagi broke through to put the Raiders on the board, scoring his first career try in the process.
Following an embarrassing missed tackle by Jaiyden Hunt, he sliced through unchallenged.
However, the Broncos responded with tries to Cobbo, who scored their only try of the second half.
Making the most of his opportunity, Sasagi delivered a pinpoint cross-kick to Sebastian Kris, who took flight and pushed the ball back to Xavier Savage, who scooped it up to score the Raiders’ second.
Walsh finished with 18 points as the Broncos won consecutive games for the first time this season.
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