2023 NRL Round 3: Broncos 40, Dragons 18

March 18, 2023

365

A six-try second half has seen the Brisbane Broncos remain undefeated in 2023, blowing the St George Illawarra Dragons away 40-18.

Result

Brisbane Broncos 40
Tries: Kotoni Staggs 2 (18, 47), Reece Walsh 2 (73, 78), Corey Paix (43), Selwyn Cobbo (70), Ezra Mam (75)
Goals: Adam Reynolds 5 (20, 44, 72, 76, 78)
Field Goal: Adam Reynolds (40)

St George Illawarra Dragons 18
Tries: Mat Feagai (6), Tyrell Sloan (27), Jayden Sullivan (33)
Goals: Zac Lomax 3 (28, 34, 59)

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A second-half surge has seen the Brisbane Broncos thump the St George Illawarra Dragons 40-18 at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.

After spending the opening few minutes defending their line, the Dragons were first to score in the seventh minute, when Mat Feagai touched down following a short-side play.

The Broncos looked to have hit back immediately after, when Selwyn Cobbo set up Ezra Mam after a bouncing Adam Reynolds bomb, however the try was revoked after the Bunker ruled Cobbo had deliberately knocked the ball forward over Tyrell Sloan’s head.

A penalty against Moses Suli for touching a drop out before it had travelled 10 metres cost the Dragons possession in the 19^th minute and gave the Broncos an opportunity to advance downfield. It took only four tackles before Kotoni Staggs pounced on a Reynolds grubber, with the converted try putting them in front 6-4.

The Dragons took the lead back in the 28^th minute when a Jaydn Su’A offload set up Sloan.

They struck again shortly after when Jayden Sullivan sliced through the line.

A two-point field goal on the siren from Reynolds cut the Dragons’ lead to 16-8 at half-time.

Kevin Walters’ half-time address seemed to fire the Broncos up to begin the second stanza, with a mountain of pressure yielding a pair of tries to Corey Paix and Staggs and an 18-16 lead.

A desperate trysaver by Sloan in the corner stopped Cobbo from extending the Broncos’ lead in the 57^th minute, before a penalty goal from Zac Lomax down the other end brought the scores level at 18-all.

Lomax then went close to scoring a few minutes later when Sullivan put in an early kick to the corner, however Cobbo just dragged him out before he grounded the ball.

The Broncos broke the deadline inside the final 10 minutes when Reynolds combined with Reece Walsh, before the fullback set Cobbo up on the inside.

That began a late flood of points as a series of second-phase play set up a pair of tries for Walsh and one for Mam, blowing the margin out to 40-18 and setting up a top-of-the-table Brisbane derby next Friday.