Broncos coach Anthony Seibold has hailed Anthony Milford "best game" of the season after his sublime all-round performance lifted Brisbane to a crucial 29-6 win over the Sharks.
Milford wears the No.6 jersey but Seibold said it was "his team in attack" and he lived up to that responsibility with two passes for tries, two line break assists and an accomplished kicking game which gave Cronulla’s fullback Will Kennedy and debutant winger Ronaldo Mulitalo grief all night.
The Broncos had appeared rudderless a fortnight earlier against Wests Tigers but Milford took control against the Sharks after showing promising signs in Canberra the previous week in a 26-22 loss.
Seibold said Milford’s "control and composure" was a highlight.
"Sometimes when things work for a key playmaker they will go away from it, but I thought his kicking game was outstanding and made it really difficult for their back three," Seibold said.
"We got a lot of rewards and field position out of that and he didn’t go away from it. His kick selection and kick execution was outstanding and you build pressure off the back of that.
Match Highlights: Broncos v Sharks
"We had 58 per cent possession which was a season high for us and a lot of that was attributed to Milf and his control. To be fair last week we scored 22 points and made five line breaks to four and I thought Milly was good, but this was his best performance.
"It is his team in attack and we’ve made some really good progress there. We are scoring enough points."
The Broncos starting middles Matt Lodge, Payne Haas and Tevita Pangai jnr were outstanding playing in tandem for the first time this season, which was perfect timing ahead of Thursday night’s blockbuster clash with South Sydney.
"All three of our starting middles were very good. Lodge in particular ran with real intent and purpose and fought hard to play the footy, so I thought we looked a lot better in attack because we created momentum and gave our key players a bit of time and space," Seibold said.
Joe Ofahengaue and Thomas Flegler continued that off the bench and Seibold said his middle forward rotation "seemed to flow a lot better".
"With a short turnaround that is what we need to carry on into the Bunnies game on Thursday night," he said.
Broncos attack on fire early
The big improvement on recent showings was the Broncos defensive clout where they missed just 16 tackles for the match
"We were really good in defence tonight, over 90 per cent effective contact which is elite and where we need to be, and that did help with our attack,” Seibold said.
"When we had some footy we had good field position and got some joy. We knew Cronulla would keep fighting. They are a tough, gritty and resilient group.
"It was a good step in the right direction."