[Source: NRL]

Normal programming resumed at AAMI Park with the Storm beating the Broncos 34-32 to launch Round 5 – but they were pushed all the way in an entertaining and end-to-end match.

However, the biggest news of the night was the loss of Broncos captain Adam Reynolds who did not return for the second half, ruled out of the game at halftime with a suspected hamstring strain.

Following on from his kicking masterclass last week against the Cowboys, Reynolds was in good form with boot in the first half and if he is to be out for an extended period, it will be a big blow for the Broncos.

A hectic first half saw some free-flowing rugby league, with both sides scoring three tries apiece, with only a wayward conversion attempt from Nick Meaney giving the visitors an 18-16 lead at the break.

The first try came to the Broncos against the run of play, with Broncos five-eighth Ezra Mam pinching a Storm ball to run to open space before eventually setting up Deine Mariner for the opening try of the match.

It didn’t take long for the Storm to respond, with Eliesa Katoa crashing over for the first of his two tries of the half.

Xavier Coates then followed up by continuing to impress the AAMI Park crowd which tonight totalled 20,638 with a great try, leaping head and shoulders above Mariner and Kotoni Staggs to bring down a targeted Jahrome Hughes kick.

The Broncos then went back-to-back with Mam crossing after a great kick infield from Jesse Arthars, who then was rewarded with his own try.

The second half was a close contest for 10 minutes, before Mam was again amongst the action, sprinting onto a Billy Walters kick with a perfect bounce, racing up the middle of the field to go in under the posts to score.

Storm winger Will Warbrick then scored to keep things tight, before the Broncos opted to take a penalty goal to extend their lead to 26-22 with just over 10 minutes to play.

However, a hard-running Tyran Wishart was able to lock up the scores when he crashed over the line, but he had to convince the Bunker he got the ball down between the Broncos defenders.

Meaney’s conversion attempt was successful, putting the Storm back into the lead 28-26 with just over five minutes remaining, before Hughes celebrated his return to play with a try to seal the win.

Ben Te Kura, Brisbane’s big debutant, also celebrated in his first outing with a powerful performance to score the 11th and final try of the match.

The Broncos came remarkably close to an upset and put in an enormous performance especially after losing their captain and halfback Reynolds which forced a reshuffle. However, they were left to rue some missed opportunities, having come close to scoring on number of occasions, including knocking the ball on with the line open.

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