It may have only been a trial game but Broncos fullback Tristan Sailor has once again proved he is too good to be stuck in reserve grade after a standout showing in a 26-16 win over their Queensland Cup feeder-club Wynnum Manly Seagulls.
Sailor was heavily involved on Saturday afternoon, setting up three tries and scoring another as Brisbane overcame an early 10-0 deficit after Wynnum dominated early proceedings at Kougari Oval.
Brisbane’s first try of the game came after a relieving penalty saw the Broncos march up the field, with a beautiful cut-out pass from Sailor seeing Bailey Trew score in the corner.
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Coby Black did well taking the ball right up to the line in the lead-up while Ben Te Kura, who stands at an NRL record 205 centimetres tall, ran a strong decoy to draw in the defence and open up space on the outside.
Sailor was involved in Brisbane’s second try too as he soared into the air to bat Black’s bomb backwards, with Josiah Karapani pouncing to score in the right corner.
Having enjoyed the better opportunities of the two teams for the majority of the second period, Brisbane then had to switch on and defend multiple sets on its own line.
When play resumed in the third period though the Seagulls extended their lead to 16-8 as Josh Stuckey barged over with 18 minutes left on the clock.
But the Broncos went on to run in 18 unanswered points from that stage to charge to victory, inspired by Sailor who came up clutch again with a perfectly-weighted banana kick for Ethan Quai-Ward to score.
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There was plenty of skill on display as fancy footwork and a late offload from Karapani then sent Joshua Patston flying down the left edge, with a brilliant flick pass almost putting Sailor over if not for a last-ditch tackle.
The Broncos spilled the ball on the next tackle to turn it over but the Seagulls returned the favour with an error of their own and this time Brisbane capitalised as Creedence Toia scored after Wynnum failed to defuse a Black grubber.
That try gave Brisbane a 20-16 lead and Sailor then iced the victory with a sensational individual effort as he turned on the pace to beat multiple defenders and score.
Sailor remains a strong back-up if anything happens to Reece Walsh but once again proved on Saturday that he could well also be a dynamic option off the bench if Brisbane can find room for him.
Sailor impressed with every opportunity he had last season, averaging 125 metres while recording six try assists, five linebreak assists and 13 tackle busts.
The 25-year-old signed a two-year extension with Brisbane that keeps him at Red Hill until the end of the 2025 season.
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While Sailor was the standout for the Broncos there were plenty of other promising performances from Brisbane’s young and emerging talent, with Xavier Willison pressing his NRL claims by helping lay the foundation up front.
Young hooker Blake Mozer didn’t have too much room to shine but was often crisp with his service from dummy-half while Black had nice touches, particularly with his last tackle options to have a hand in a few tries.
Deine Mariner, who is pushing for a spot in Brisbane’s NRL backline, flashed his speed at various points in the game but had a moment to forget when he was bundled into touch in the 29th minute for what should have been a try.
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