Greg Inglis

Many fans were waiting for Inglis to make a mark once more and they were not disappointed last night, with the elite fullback putting on a show and guiding the South Sydney Rabbitohs to a comfortable win over the Brisbane Broncos.

Scoring three tries in a man-of-the-match performance and showing off an array of skills from speed, strength and teamwork, the Broncos simply had no answer when it came to Inglis.

The game was tit-for-tat to begin with and it looked like it was going to be a close affair but that was not to last for long, as the Bunnies ran away with the game on the back of crucial performances from their big stars.

The likes of Sam Burgess and Adam Reynolds also made their marks on the game but the focus post-game was all on Inglis, who received plaudits galore from his team-mates.

With Greg recently appointed captain of the Souths side in the absence of John Sutton, team-mate Lote Tuqiri believes that that is a key reason as to his newfound form.

“You never know with Greg, he sort of cruises around but I think what has been good with him is having the responsibility of the captaincy,” Tuqiri said.

“That is not to say he hasn’t turned up before but mentally he has to be switched on and I think that has really helped his game and I guess moved his game to another level. He has done that tonight and he has been doing that for the last couple of weeks. We’re just getting the fruits of it.”

Although Bunnies coach Michael Maguire did not label Inglis’ performance as a break-out game, he did point out that the efforts of the fullback from training are now evident in games.

“I think particularly in the last month he’s been pretty thorough for us and if you keep putting yourself in those situations and keep working hard like he is then the opportunities come,” Maguire said.

“He scored a pretty good one when we were up in Brisbane and he ran the length [of the field] so he keeps putting himself in the picture and one thing Greg has really tried to do is just to give himself an opportunity to be in the right place at the right time.

“That is how hard he is working and it is a big reflection on how he trains and where he is at the moment. Just with life and family and all of those sorts of things, he is very happy and that reflects on the team because he is a very big leader in what we have.”

To further complicate matters for the Broncos on top of their huge loss, fullback Josh Hoffman is out for the season after damaging his lower right leg.

“It’s not good,” said Broncos coach, Anthony Griffin.

“He’s done it before… he’ll have to get scans but he and the doctor are pretty sure it’s the same thing.”

“If that’s the injury it will be [the end of his season].”

Griffin made no excuses for the loss and knows that the impact of Inglis and his side’s inability to hold the ball, led to their loss .

“As we saw tonight [Inglis], can just do things that no one else can do if he gets himself in the right place at the right time,” Griffin said.

“He’s one of the greatest players in the game when he decides to do something. Sometimes you are sitting there and you can’t do anything about it.

“But the frustrating thing is we contributed to a lot of the field position and a lot of the points that came their way. The two balls Daniel Vidot dropped in defence and attack; that’s 12 points. If you leave them in range, you’re always at the mercy of someone like Inglis if he’s in that type of mood tonight.”

By ricky

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