Nowhere to run ... Trent Merrin looks for options despite the attention of Broncos playmaker Scott Prince. Photo: David Tease
Justin Hodges played only 40 minutes but his class was the difference in Brisbane's gutsy defeat of St George Illawarra at WIN Stadium on Friday.
Despite dominating possession and field position against an opposition reduced to 15 players after losing Hodges and prop Josh McGuire to injury, the Dragons never really looked like winning and must seriously be considering stepping up plans to sign sacked Canberra star Josh Dugan.
Even with Hodges spending 10 minutes in the sin bin for a professional foul, St George Illawarra could only manage one try and then allowed their undermanned opponents to score three times in the second half.
It was a courageous performance by the Broncos, who were run off their feet in the first half after being forced to make 174 tackles to the Dragons 112 and lost McGuire with a calf tear in the 30th minute. At one stage in the first half, the Broncos held out the home side for 11 consecutive sets.
Worse was to come when Hodges pulled up lame after a run 10 minutes into the second half when he tore his left hamstring.
The Test centre had only just returned from the sin bin after a try-saving tackle on Brett Morris and had helped put the Broncos ahead 10-6 two minutes earlier with a grubber kick that resulted in winger Josh Hoffman scoring.
Down to one interchange 15 minutes from full-time, Brisbane extended their lead when second-rower David Stagg scored in the 65th minute and fullback Corey Norman eight minutes later.
Yet while Brisbane deserve credit for the way they repeatedly defended their line, the truth is that the home side didn't really challenge them with much.
Time and time again they went to the left side and tried to force their way over either through a short ball to Ben Creagh or a sweep play involving fullback Gerard Beale, playing the role Darius Boyd used to in attack.
It was all too predictable and twice in the first half Hodges easily read the play and was able to shoot out of the line to knock down a pass.
Lock Trent Merrin eventually managed to scramble across the Brisbane line in the 17th minute but the try was disallowed after Nathan Fien pushed over the marker, Andrew McCullough, after playing the ball.
When Creagh was called back for a forward pass from Fien in the 25th minute, even the Dragons mascot dropped his head in frustration.
The Dragons spent a long time camped on the Brisbane line but Fien and five-eighth Jamie Soward stuck to the script and rarely threatened the Broncos defence.
In fact, their best attacking plays started at their own end of the field, with Jason Nightingale taking a quick 20-metre tap and racing 60 metres in the fourth minute, and fellow winger Morris running the same distance from a kick return.
Hodges saved a try on both occasions, stripping the ball from Soward after he had received a pass from Nightingale and running down Morris before being dispatched to the sin bin.
Both were big plays and the first incident led to Ben Hannant scoring the opening try of the match in the fifth minute. The Broncos managed to hold on with 12 men to go to half-time level at 6-6 after Michael Weyman finally crossed for the Dragons in the 30th minute.
BRISBANE 22 (B Hannant J Hoffman C Norman D Stagg tries S Prince 3 goals) bt ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA 6 (M Weyman try J Soward goal) at WIN Stadium. Referee: Gavin Morris, Jason Robinson. Crowd: 13,156.
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