Lockyer king of kings
May 31st 2008 07:42
The Broncos embrace after a thrilling win
it's offical, Darren Lockyer is a footballing god.
Whether you'd like to admit or not, the Broncos champion is now up there with the greatest players to grace the planet.
In what was arguably the game of the season, only Lockyer could have finished it the way he did.
On the stroke of fulltime, the QLD captain picks up a shocking pass from dummy-half, runs to the defensive line and chips over the top for speedster Denan Kemp to cap one of the most thrillling wins in season 2008.
For the Broncos it was a win that now sets up their season with pure emotion and adenaline. They will be hard to beat now that's for sure.
The Eels on the other hand played arguably their finest game this season with the likes of Krisnan Inu and Feleti Mateo starring for Parramatta.
Those two have talent to burn and really emphasised the abundance of wealth that the Eels have in their player roster.
Unfortuntely for them, it ended in heartbreak and Michael Hagan now must travel back to Sydney wondering how this game got away.
Some things though cannot be stopped and Darren Lockyer has now approached a time in his career where everything he will touch takes on far greater importance.
When he was off the field, the Broncos were feeling the heat and the Eels were starting to find their feet in attack. A Moi Moi bust early in the second half that ended in a try to Luke Burt indicated the aura of dominance that Parramatta were to starting to have.
In comes the Broncos icon and everything starts to full in place for the Wayne Bennett's men. Lockyer's first two touches of the ball force a line dropout and an assist for Kemp's third try of the night.
Ladies and the gentlemen, the king was back in town.
The Eels however had other ideas for a grandstand finish.
Making his return from injury, Krisnan Inu was always going to be tough to handle. In the end he almost proved the messiah for a Parramatta team that desperately needed the win to kickstart their season.
In the space of 3 minutes, Inu scores off a Brett Finch bomb and then is on the receiving end of a Feleti Mateo special on the last tackle to tie the game.
Make no mistake, Inu can be devastating and this was all after a 10 week layoff with injury. What a talent.
Mateo also had a fine game and really proved to critics that he can really be a world class five-eighth.
But the night belonged to Lockyer once again and his reputation for being one of the game's greatest ever just keeps growing and growing.
After this performance, the QLD selectors will now look to him once again to rescue a series that has the Maroon's on the backfoot.
With his experience and skill, Lockyer's inclusion in the side will automatically make the Queenslanders favourite to draw the series.
Despite playing for an age, Lockyer just never seems to run of ideas, and his temperment for the big occasion always gives him power to do things with perfection on a football field.
The amazing thing is, he just seems to consistently present danger to opposition no matter how injured or fatigued he is.
With Lockyer back in his groove, you just never know what the Broncos or QLD are capable of. That is Lockyer in and out.
While the Broncos will celebrate with their saviour, the Eels can only wonder.
Wonder how their best performance of the season failed to reap any dividends for a side that needed the victory more than their opponents.
If they play the way they did from here on in, we might just start seeing the best of an Eels side that has so far disappointed in season 2008.
From what the NRL gods saw yesterday, Parramatta should be destined to click into gear for the remainder of the year.
They are simply too good not to be playing finals footy in September.
Although this loss will be hard to take, the Eels now must regroup in the knowledge that what they did last night will cause their remaining opponents a hell of alot of grieve.
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