The bigger the stage, the better he plays. Anthony Milford's reputation as a prime-time performer was further enhanced as Brisbane's brilliant playmaker proved too hot to handle for a badly out-gunned Manly on Saturday night.
It was technically a home game for the Sea Eagles but the overwhelming percentage of the 52,347 fans at Suncorp Stadium were hanging on Milford's every move as the Broncos rounded out the second match of the NRL double-header in deeply impressive fashion.
Braith Anasta would later suggest Milford could be the best player in the game at the moment and given his form it's difficult to argue to the contrary. Sam Thaiday's suggestion that he is destined for nothing short of greatness no longer looks so outlandish.
The night featured three of the game's top four teams and Manly looked every bit the tag-alongs to the party as the Broncos, missing Adam Blair, Andrew McCullough and Alex Glenn, ran away with a 30-6 victory, completed with minimal fuss. They move back to the top of the ladder.
It was exactly the kind of performance the grand finalists needed to produce in the wake of Melbourne and North Queensland's excellent opening act and a last-round defeat at the hands of the Sharks prior to the representative round.
Manly had injury concerns of their own and could well have done with the sting of Steve Matai in the centres and the support play of Brett Stewart at the back.
Instead, they had to contend with a Broncos outfit that was far too slick, even if the Sea Eagles could rightly feel hard done by when denied a first-half try due to a forward pass.
It was probably an incorrect call but Manly could hardly claim it would have altered the result. They arrived full of confidence that they could pull off an upset but their defence was never up to scratch in the face of a sharp and clinical Broncos attack that always looked a level above.
Even the reliable Jamie Lyon had a tough night at the office, finding himself having his ankles snapped by Thaiday, of all people, in the second half as the backrower moonlighted in the centres, produced a memorable in-and-away and powered away to score.
That put the result beyond any doubt after Brisbane had already raced to a 20-0 lead after 50 minutes, with the smooth stylings of Milford pulling all the strings and bagging a double for his troubles.
Marty Taupau barged his way over for Manly's sole contribution to the scoreboard although he now faces an anxious wait after a clumsy tackle on Matt Gillett in the 68th minute that was put on report.
The pair had been conducting a running battle for much of the second half and it ended with Gillett in a dangerous position as Taupau couldn't control the up-and-under tackle.
Daly Cherry-Evans tried hard for Manly but had little to work with behind a badly beaten forward pack. The Sea Eagles stay on four wins and are running out of time to start putting it all together on a weekly basis.
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