Craig Cauchi reviews the Dragons victory over a desperate Broncos side. Here’s how the game went.
MATCH TIMELINE
| Minute | Scoring Play | Score |
| 2nd | Try Josh Kerr (Dragons) | Dragons 4-0 |
| 3rd | Goal Zac Lomax (Dragons) | Dragons 6-0 |
| 5th | Try Corey Norman (Dragons) | Dragons 10-0 |
| 6th | Goal Zac Lomax (Dragons) | Dragons 12-0 |
| 17th | Try Richard Kennar (Broncos) | Dragons 12-4 |
| 19th | Goal Kotoni Staggs (Broncos) | Dragons 12-6 |
| 23rd | Try Cory Paix (Broncos) | Dragons 12-10 |
| 24th | Goal Kotoni Staggs (Broncos) | Draw 12-12 |
| 29th | Penalty Goal Zac Lomax (Dragons) | Dragons 14-12 |
| 30th | Mikaele Ravalawa (Dragons) | Dragons 18-12 |
| 40th | HALF-TIME | Dragons 18-12 |
| 43rd | Try Kotoni Staggs (Broncos) | Dragons 18-16 |
| 45th | Goal Kotoni Staggs (Broncos) | Dragons 18-18 |
| 52nd | Penalty Goal Zac Lomax (Dragons) | Dragons 20-18 |
| 57th | Try Mikaele Ravalawa (Dragons) | Dragons 24-18 |
| 58th | Goal Zac Lomax (Dragons) | Dragons 26-18 |
| 69th | Try Tom Dearden (Broncos) | Dragons 26-22 |
| 70th | Goal Kotoni Staggs (Broncos) | Dragons 26-24 |
| 80th | Penalty Goal Zac Lomax (Dragons) | Dragons 28-24 |
MATCH SUMMARY
1st Half
The Dragons were off to a fast start with back-to-back tries through Josh Kerr and Corey Norman. The Broncos defence were slow and allowed the two Dragons players an easy passage to the try line. After 5 minutes of play, the Broncos found themselves down 12-0 and a blowout seemed possible. The possession started changing and the Dragons gave away cheap penalties with the Broncos working their way out of their own end. The Broncos went for 10 minutes with complete control of the ball and came away from that dominance with 2 tries of their own. The first was off a back line movement for the left winger Richard Kennar and the second, a simple barge over from dummy half Cory Paix. The Dragons edged ahead with a penalty goal and from the following set off the kick-off, scored a try through Mikaele Ravalawa. The winger bulldozed his way to the line after being given space down the wing. The sideline conversion went wide and the score remained 18-12 as the teams went into the break.
2nd Half
The Broncos start to the second half was a vast difference to the start of the first. Kotoni Staggs burst through defenders on the halfway line and from there couldn’t be caught as he crossed the line to level the scores up. The Broncos came out with the determination and desire that has been sorely missing this season. The Dragons held on and were able to inch back in front with another penalty goal. It wasn’t long after that that Mikaele Ravalawa crossed for his second try of the night and put the Dragons out to an 8 point lead. The final quarter of matches haven’t been kind for the Broncos but this week they kept the fight going and scored a try through Tom Dearden. It brought the lead back to 2 inside the final 10 minutes but despite all their efforts they couldn’t cross for the final try. The match was put to bed with a long field kick from Corey Norman, trapping Darius Boyd in-goal. A penalty was awarded on fulltime for an illegal strip and Zac Lomax kicked the Dragons to a 28-24 victory as the siren sounded.
GAME HIGHLIGHT
Kotoni Staggs was quite critical of the Broncos leadership group during the week and came out and backed up his words with actions. His try at the start of the second half is the type of play that makes opposition fans nervous every time he touches the ball. Catching the ball on his 30 metre line, Kotoni Staggs brushed off opposing centre Euan Aitken, and once he got into the back field he was impossible to stop. The try is one of the highlights of the Broncos season.
SQUADS
Brisbane Broncos: 1. Darius Boyd 2. Richard Kennar 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Jordan Kahu 5. Herbie Farnworth 6. Anthony Milford 7. Tom Dearden 8. Joe Ofahengaue 9. Isaac Luke 10. Rhys Kennedy 11. David Fifita 12. Ben Te’o 13. Patrick Carrigan. 14. Cory Paix 15. Jordan Riki 16. Ethan Bullemor 17. Jamil Hopoate
St George Illawarra Dragons: 1. Matthew Dufty 2. Jordan Pereira 3. Euan Aitken 4. Zac Lomax 5. Mikaele Ravalawa 6. Corey Norman 7. Adam Clune 8. Blake Lawrie 9. Ben Hunt 10. Josh Kerr 11. Tyson Frizell 14. Jacob Host 13. Cameron McInnes 15. Kaide Ellis 16. Korbin Sims 17. Paul Vaughan 18. Trent Merrin
