BRISBANE BRONCOS 26 DOLPHINS 12
TOM SMITH, Suncorp Stadium, Friday

KOTONI STAGGS continued his dominance of the Battle of Brisbane, scoring two brilliant tries as the Broncos clinched bragging rights over the Dolphins. 

Staggs ignited the rivalry with his passionate, celebratory cry of “this is our home” in the inaugural derby in 2023, and he dusted off that trademark once again after running away with the 80th-minute sealer here.

The final score didn’t reflect the closeness of this arm wrestle. The Phins trailed by just four points as the clock ticked past the 70-minute mark, until the Broncos split things open with two tries in the last eight minutes. 

The result continues Brisbane’s ascendancy in this fixture, which they’ve now claimed six times from seven. 

Brisbane winger Grant Anderson went down midway through the half with a leg injury, replaced by Gehamat Shibasaki — and the out-of-favour premiership winner made a statement with a valuable late try. 

Adam Reynolds also made a fruitful return from a rib injury, grabbing a superb solo four-pointer, and Patrick Carrigan led the forward pack in the absence of enforcer Payne Haas. 

Seven days after the Broncos kickstarted their premiership defence with a backs-against-the-wall defeat of the Storm in Melbourne, Michael Maguire regained captain Reynolds but lost Haas to a shoulder issue. 

Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf strengthened the line-up that upset the Sharks in Sydney in round three, adding big men Thomas Flegler (rib) and Francis Molo (suspension) to his 19-man squad. 

New Dolphin Selwyn Cobbo and Broncos recruit Aublix Tawha both faced their former team-mates for the first time. 

Staggs snaffled an Ezra Mam grubber to register the first points on four minutes, before the Dolphins were denied time and time again up the other end. 

First the Bunker chalked off a Kodi Nikorima try for obstruction, then Anderson denied Cobbo in the corner and finally the outstanding Kulikefu Finefeuiaki was turned down for a forward pass. 

Brisbane then fell foul of the officials, who spotted Josiah Karapani’s toe in touch before an acrobatic finish. 

But there was no denying Reynolds moments later, grubber-kicking through the line then repelling two red jumpers to find the whitewash. 

Former Bronco Jamayne Isaako eventually got the Phins on the board, finishing a beautiful Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow cut-out to make it 10-6 at the break. 

Reece Walsh put his stamp on the contest three minutes after the restart, sprinting onto a brilliant no-look offload by Ben Talty. 

Max Plath was the Bunker’s next rejection, although Jake Averillo soon intercepted a wild Mam pass to narrow the margin.

With ten minutes left, Isaako came within inches of levelling the scores – instead, Shibasaki gave Brisbane some breathing room, punishing Tabuai-Fidow and Isaako for allowing a Walsh bomb to bounce. 

Then moments after Walsh reeled in Finefeuiaki, Staggs galloped away to put an exclamation mark on the win. 

Unheralded prop Corey Jensen was handed the kicking duties to celebrate his 150th game, but couldn’t add the conversion. 

GAMESTAR: Kotoni Staggs nabbed the first and last tries while racking up 193 running metres, more than any of his team-mates. 

GAMEBREAKER: Staggs delivered his signature celebration after running away with the 80th-minute sealer. 

MATCHFACTS

BRONCOS
1 Reece Walsh
2 Josiah Karapani
3 Kotoni Staggs
4 Deine Mariner
5 Grant Anderson
6 Ezra Mam
7 Adam Reynolds
8 Corey Jensen
9 Cory Paix
10 Xavier Willison
11 Brendan Piakura
12 Jordan Riki
13 Patrick Carrigan
Subs
14 Ben Hunt
15 Ben Talty
16 Aublix Tawha
17 Gehamat Shibasaki
18 Jaiyden Hunt (not used)
22 Va’a Semu (not used)

Tries: Staggs (4, 80), Reynolds (25), Walsh (44), Shibasaki (73)
Goals: Reynolds 3/4, Jensen 0/1

DOLPHINS
1 Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow
2 Jamayne Isaako
3 Jake Averillo
4 Herbie Farnworth
5 Selwyn Cobbo
6 Kodi Nikorima
7 Isaiya Katoa
8 Tom Gilbert
9 Max Plath
10 Felise Kaufusi
11 Connelly Lemuelu
12 Kulikefu Finefeuiaki
13 Morgan Knowles
Subs
14 Brad Schneider
15 Thomas Flegler
16 Oryn Keeley (not used)
17 Ray Stone
18 Trai Fuller (not used)
19 Francis Molo

Tries: Isaako (29), Averillo (59)
Goals: Isaako 2/2

SCORING SEQUENCE: 4-0, 10-0, 10-6; 16-6, 16-12, 22-12, 26-12

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Broncos: Kotoni Staggs; Dolphins: Kulikefu Finefeuiaki

Penalty count: 3-5
Half-time: 10-6
Referee: Ashley Klein
Attendance: 45,882