Broncos fall short again as Dragons make winning start under Young
The Dragons have gone back-to-back to give caretaker coach Dean Young a welcome first-up victory as Brisbane's terrible run of losses continued in a 28-24 defeat to the Red V at Suncorp Stadium.
Even without suspended prop Payne Haas, the Broncos at least showed some character and commitment but weren't able to get over the line as they amassed their 12th defeat in 13 games.
Broncos star Anthony Milford faces more time on the sidelines after re-injuring his hamstring.Credit:Getty
To make things worse, they lost playmaker Anthony Milford to a hamstring injury after he had just returned to the field after three weeks out with the same injury.
Former Bronco Ben Hunt was calm and collected late in the piece for the Dragons, who just couldn't open the floodgates as Brisbane stuck on gamely, with Pat Carrigan and Tom Dearden emptying the tank for their struggling side.
Mikaele Ravalawa grabbed a double while Matt Dufty had flashes of brilliance to ensure they didn't drop a winnable game on the road.
Brisbane's start was very, well, Brisbane. Presented with a soaring bomb, Richie Kennar proceeded to drop it cold, then Josh Kerr simply forced his way over between the posts to give the Dragons a 6-0 lead.
Dragons winger Mikaele Ravalawa crashes over for one of his two tries against the Broncos.Credit:Getty
It was the kind of soft try that has become emblematic of the issues at the Broncos in 2020 and the club's disgruntled cohort of Old Boys, who have spent most of the year questioning the heart and commitment of the current crop, would have already been climbing under the coach.
They might have been tempted to change over to a wildlife documentary when Corey Norman skipped through some feeble attempts by Ben Te'o and Joe Ofahengaue to make it 12-0 after just five minutes. But for once this season, it was worth sticking around.
Suddenly, there were signs of life. Anthony Milford was running the show and running the ball. Kennar was the beneficiary of a Darius Boyd three-on-two special and then Corey Paix took the shortest way to the line to burrow over from dummy-half and make it 12-12.
Dufty kept the scoreboard ticking over for the Dragons, floating a perfect long ball that hit a flying Ravalawa right on the chest. He steamed down the sideline, then put a Fijian sidestep on Boyd to smash his way over in the corner for am 18-12 half-time lead.
Brisbane's second halves have been complete trainwrecks in 2020 but Kotoni Staggs gave them some hope when he produced a wonderful long-range effort, shrugging off defenders before racing 75m to level the scores. He's been one of the few bright-spots in Brisbane's wretched campaign.
Ravalawa grabbed his second in the 57th minute, with Zac Lomax curling through a sideline conversion that ensured the Dragons had an eight-point buffer in a contest that was still anything but settled.
Dearden made sure of that when he spun his way over and put the Broncos back within two heading into the final 10 minutes. The young playmaker was throwing everything at the Dragons in the absence of Milford and deserved to get his name on the scoreboard.
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