Broncos run worth the wait for Ennis - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

Broncos run worth the wait for Ennis

By Laine Clark 10/09/2008 05:36:46 PM Comments (0)

Poignant farewells have been the order of the day at the Brisbane Broncos of late - but one departing player has not been able to wipe the smile off his face.

The hype at the Broncos may have surrounded departing coach Wayne Bennett and veteran Tonie Carroll, particularly after their emotional Suncorp Stadium clash last Friday night.

Even poker-faced Bennett almost teared up at what was his official farewell to Queensland rugby league's spiritual home - almost.

However, Brisbane's Bulldogs-bound hooker Michael Ennis can't hide his excitement despite his three-season Broncos stint winding down.

As Brisbane flew out for Sydney before Friday night's NRL finals opener with the Roosters, Ennis revealed he was relishing a long-awaited chance with the Broncos' big names.

Origin duty, a knee injury to Darren Lockyer and an eye-watering testicle tear to Peter Wallace ensured Ennis could never really show what he could do in combination with the Broncos playmakers - until now.

For the fourth straight week the Broncos have named a largely unchanged line-up - and Ennis is licking his lips at the prospect of their stars aligning in the NRL finals.

A three-year deal with the Bulldogs may await Ennis but the No.9 is hopeful of extending his Broncos swansong for another month with Wallace and Lockyer finally by his side.

"I've been dying to have both of them on the park every week and the last few weeks we've had that," Ennis told reporters.

"It's nice to have that kind of quality players to play to all the time.

"It's great to have the full 17 for the third or fourth week in a row.

"That's how you build combinations and it's certainly nice to have an injury-free squad at the moment.

"You get an extra buzz when you know you've got your full strength side on the field and we haven't had that all year."

It has been worth the wait for Ennis.

To compound the disappointment of missing the bulk of 2006 with a knee reconstruction, Ennis witnessed the Broncos stitch up their sixth premiership that season as a spectator.

When a shoulder injury hampered his 2007 season, Ennis again was relegated to the sidelines for Brisbane's finals campaign last year - all one game of it.

The Broncos suffered their worst finals loss - 40-0 at Melbourne.

And the finals curse appeared to have struck again for Ennis when it appeared he may be at risk of missing the Roosters clash due to an alleged "prowler" hit on Newcastle's Kurt Gidley in last Friday night's 24-2 victory over the Knights.

After being cleared by the match review panel, Ennis has dared to dream of October glory for the Broncos - and a happy ending to his sometimes troubled Brisbane tale.

"It would be lovely, a nice fairytale I suppose but it's a long way away yet - we've got four weeks of hard work hopefully," he said.

The Broncos have won six of the last seven games against the Roosters at the Sydney Football Stadium and have not been beaten by the team at the venue since 2003.

"Other than Suncorp, it's my favourite stadium to play in," Ennis said of the SFS.

"It's got that heritage of grand finals and semi-finals about it."

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