Brisbane’s horror season has sunk to a new low, with a ruthless Wests Tigers battering the Broncos in a 48-0 thrashing at Leichhardt Oval.
Brisbane coach Anthony Seibold told media the club suspected the injury is a femoral compound fracture.
While losing Oates is another major blow to the Broncos in a rocky season it might not be at the top of the list of Seibold’s concerns.
The win over the Broncos lifts Maguire’s side into seventh spot.
Leilua and Luke Garner bagged two each for the Tigers, who scored nine tries in total.
The Tigers barely had to work for their points in the first half, with David Nofoaluma crossing from the first play off a scrum in the 10th minute.
The seas parted on the right for Harry Grant in the 14th minute, on the left for Leilua in the 21st, and that was before the Broncos literally started giving tries away.
First it was a Jamayne Isaako play-one error that gifted four points to Benji Marshall in the 25th minute, and the second was even more deplorable.
Looking for an easy out from their line drop out, Isaako went short, only for Luciano to spin out of an attempted tackle and waltz through for his second try — and the Tigers’ fifth — of the opening period.
Not even half-time could halt the Tigers’ momentum, with Garner continuing the rampage just three minutes after the resumption.
Then the party tricks came out, with Marshall busting out his trademark flick pass prior to rookie Sam McIntyre claiming the first four-pointer of his career in the 47th minute.
But Marshall was outdone by Billy Walters — son of Broncos great Kevin — who stunningly volleyed a towering Marshall bomb ahead for his maiden NRL try.
Brisbane were not the only Queensland side with a Friday night to forget as a Cameron Smith masterclass helped the Storm make themselves comfortable at their new Sunshine Coast base with a 42-6 rout of the Gold Coast Titans.
The Storm relocated to Queensland three weeks ago and are resigned to playing out the season away from Victoria as COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the state.
But the Storm are showing no signs of homesickness, celebrating their first match at the Sunshine Coast Stadium in Kawana with a fifth-straight victory.
Melbourne could have been forgiven for showing a touch of complacency against the second-last Titans after knocking over premiers the Sydney Roosters and then last year’s beaten grand finalists Canberra in consecutive weeks.
But the Storm defied slippery conditions to notch their 12th-straight win in Queensland as Cameron Munster made an impressive return from a two-week absence because of a knee injury.
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