Brisbane Broncos coach Kevin Walters saluted his side’s defence as they caused an upset when defeating the Cronulla Sharks 16-7 on Friday night.
The Broncos moved in to the eight with the win and will be hoping to stay there and play finals at the end of the season.
Upset win
The Sharks have been flying, scoring points for fun, but the Broncos, lead by inspirational skipper Adam Reynolds once again, nullified the danger to secure the win.
Keeping Sharks ace Siosifa Talakai quiet was always going to be a big job, but Kotoni Staggs was up to the task and also chipped in with a try.
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"That's the big one, is the defence from the guys," Walters told reporters after the game. "Cronulla's been scoring a lot of points this year, it just shows the unity they're building.
"Again tonight he's (Reynolds) at the heart of everything we're doing. Him and (Kurt) Capewell, Payne Haas."
Sharks disappointed
The Sharks now sit 5-3 for the season and coach Craig Fitzgibbon admits his side were not at the races at Suncorp Stadium.
And he says all the team failed in attack not just Talakai.
"It was a bit of a flat performance from us," Fitzgibbon added. "Kotoni got some confidence out of that (defending Talakai well), got himself into the game.
"But the whole team, it's unfair to isolate one player, didn't execute in the second half, I think that was pretty obvious."
