Ezra Mam made a superb return from his nine-game drug-driving suspension but the Broncos have slumped to a surprise loss to St George Illawarra.
Mam scored a try and set up two others but the Dragons, on the back of a two-try surge while they had Jaydn Su’A in the sin bin, registered their best win of the year with a 30-26 boilover.
The result is set to turn the heat up on Michael Maguire following a week in which his coaching credentials were brought into question by former Tigers star Elijah Taylor in a social media rant, which was liked by Broncos prop Martin Taupau, who was subsequently shown the door.
Brisbane are now 5-6 and out of the top eight after Round 11 heading into the State of Origin period.
For the Dragons, their fourth win from 10 starts keeps them in the playoff hunt although it was soured by a serious knee injury to Dylan Egan.
The Gerringong Lions junior was taken off in just the fifth minute after suffering a suspected ACL tear while making a tackle.
Referee Gerard Sutton opted to stop play even though the young forward was writhing on the ground in agony.
A wayward Brisbane pass then struck the stricken rookie and St George Illawarra’s trainer even though he tried unsuccessfully to move out of the way in a comical moment which should have been prevented by the ref stopping play.
Egan, who has been a revelation on the left edge since his debut in Round 4, is the second young Dragon to have his season end prematurely due to a serious knee injury after Ryan Couchman suffered a similar injury last month.
The Broncos’ first try soon after was a fraction forward – nine tenths of a metre in the illegal direction.
It’s the kind of howler which will lead to the annual calls for the NRL to invest in microchip technology. Graham Annesley or one of the suits at HQ will say it is not ready, too costly or needs further testing, and nothing will change.
Mam’s pass to Gehamat Shibasaki was missed by each touch judge even though it was from a scrum win and they were both in line.
The positioning of players can obstruct their view and with referee Gerard Sutton back keeping the defensive line onside, he was unable to tell that the ball travelled forward.
A second ref, trailing the attacking team, would have some hope of being able to pick up obvious forward passes like this one.
The NRL executives cut back to one ref on-field during the pandemic as a cost-saving measure.
They like to publicise how the game is now in rude financial health so some of those dollars should be set aside to get an extra pair of eyes on the field.
Brisbane were in again in the 25th minute up when Mam sliced over before Tyrell Sloan touched down to cut the half-time scoreline to 12-4.
When Su’A was sin-binned for a professional foul after a quick tap, the Dragons were on the ropes but captain Clint Gutherson backed up a skilful Hamish Stewart offload to score against the run of play.
And then they hit the front when back-up hooker Jacob Liddle pounced on a loose ball and goose-stepped clear of Mam’s cover tackle in an 80-metre sprint to the line.
Kotoni Staggs put Brisbane back in front, coincidentally as soon as St George Illawarra were back to their full 13-man line-up, when he backed up another Mam break.
But the Dragons were not to be denied and spread the ball wide for Sloan’s second before Gutherson barrelled over from a scrum win using Shane Flanagan’s 2016 grand final set play to the delight of everyone clad in red and white.
A late Jesse Arthars try set up a nail-biting finish but the Dragons’ defence held firm in the frenetic final set.
