Broncos reject breaks record in ‘one of the best debuts ever seen’
The decision from the Brisbane Broncos to release Coby Black now looks like a significant blunder after the rookie half’s blinder on debut for the Raiders.
Black’s starring role came in a 50-30 win over the Cowboys, with the latter sweating on the match review committee’s results after Reuben Cotter was sin-binned for a high shot on the first tackle of the match.
Reuben Cotter is sin-binned. Getty Images
Cotter put a hit on Josh Papalii with Coen Hess from the kick-off with the retiring Raiders prop staying down immediately.
The Bunker judged Cotter’s hit was high which led to a sin bin and now means there’s a nervous wait for the lock as the Cowboys now prepare for finals.
Saturday’s loss at home was a horrible lead-in for finals as they were upstaged by a 20-year-old debutant.
Black came to the Raiders at the end of last season after the Broncos signed Jonah Pezet for next year.
Black had massive wraps on him coming through the Brisbane system but was left “pissed off” by the club’s decision to sign Pezet and subsequently quit.
He showed the Broncos that was the wrong decision by scoring the most ever points on debut on Saturday night.
Black’s final tally of points was 26, beating Amos Roberts’ record of 22 from 2000.
“One of the best debuts I’ve ever seen,” Steve ‘Blocker’ Roach said on Fox League.
Among those points was two tries for Black and two try assists.
The halfback’s performance leaves egg on the face of Broncos decision-makers after he’d told News Corp this year of how frustrated he was by his predicament.
“I still had another year left at Brisbane and then they went and bought Pezet in the off-season. They had (Tom) Duffy and bought Pezet on what we assumed was big coin,” he said.
“I was sort of pissed off because you hear things like ‘you’re a good chance of being the next half’.
“My manager had been tipped up on (the Broncos’ signing of Pezet) through the grapevine, and he’d given me a bit of early notice that it could be happening.
Coby Black during his debut. NRL Imagery
“I was prepared for the news to come out, but it was still a shock that it actually happened.
“I hadn’t been told by anyone from the club or anything, which is probably what hurt me more.”
Black is at the club on a three-year deal and will fight with Ethan Sanders for the halfback jersey next season.
