Brisbane beat Wigan in golden point extra time

James Gordon

A Corey Parker penalty in golden point extra time earned Brisbane a 14-12 win at Wigan in the World Club Series.

It took 90 minutes for the two sides to be separated, after Joe Burgess’ late try took it to the extra period.

Parker kept his cool, despite the bizarre intervention of Anthony Gelling on his first attempt, to slot over for the decisive two points after Joel Tomkins had been pegged for a high tackle following a period of sustained Brisbane pressure.

The win means the NRL are guaranteed to win the series over Super League – although the title of world club champion remains up for grabs when St Helens take on South Sydney tomorrow.

A mistake by NRL-bound Joe Burgess helped the Broncos on their way to the first score. The winger lost control of the ball under a fierce tackle by Jordan Kahu, with hooker Andrew McCullough picking up for a simple score under the posts.

In difficult conditions on a poor pitch at the DW Stadium, Wigan hit back on 24 minutes when Liam Farrell latched on to George Williams’ kick for a try, confirmed by the video referee.

The game stayed tie at 6-all at the break, and turned in to a real arm wrestle as the pitch took its toll.

A controversial penalty given against Wigan as they tried to avoid an unfortunate accidental offside, set Brisbane up for the field position that saw a slick passing move end with Lachlan Maranta crossing in the left corner for 10-6.

A Parker penalty on 67 minutes stretched that advantage by two more points, and the game seemed to be going in Brisbane favour.

But Wigan upped the ante in the closing stages, and it took a moment of magic by Burgess, on an otherwise forgettable night for the young winger, to pull them back in to the contest.

He handed off his opposite number to run 80 metres, with a one-two with George Williams to evade the full back in the process.

Matty Smith kept his nerve to add the conversion and level the scores and force the extra period.

Brisbane used their experience of golden point – it is used to decide any tied game in the NRL competition – and gradually squeezed territory and possession out of their opponents.

 

After two failed drop goal attempts, they were gifted the win by a penalty in the final minute of the first half of extra time.