- Walters lashes out at his players after sixth straight loss
- Broncos now sit 13th on the NRL ladder and need a win
- Coach stormed out of locker rooms after game
Brisbane’s hopes of reaching the finals have been dashed after St George Illawarra won 30-26 to hand last year’s finalists their sixth straight defeat.
No team in NRL Premier League history has lost so many games in a row and still won the title.
The Dragons crushed the Broncos in the first half, crushing them. Second rower Jaydn Su’A, who transferred from Queensland, had one of his best games against his former club at Suncorp Stadium.
The visitors scored three of their four first-half tries in nine minutes to lead 22-6 at half-time, surprising a crowd of 34,224. Three of those tries came from errors by Brisbane.
Broncos coach Kevin Walters was furious after the game and yelled at his players, storming out of the barn.
“He’s not happy because they’re losing, that’s clear,” Mal Meninga said as the footage played.
“I think it’s a football thing. I think it’s something to do with their selection and a little bit to do with their execution.”
During the post-match press conference, Walters was still irritated.
Broncos coach Kevin Walters was furious after the game and lashed out at his players
Brisbane’s finals hopes have been dashed after a 30-26 loss to the Dragons
“What irritates me … is that I know we are so much better than what we do,” he said.
“I’m just disappointed that we’re throwing that out there. And I’m disappointed in myself as a coach that that’s what’s consistently presented, that’s not good enough. And that’s on me.”
Dragons coach Shane Flanagan said he was proud of the way his team dominated early on.
“Our first 40 minutes were similar to Dragons and the first 10 minutes of the second half were pretty good too,” he said.
“We made them come back for a fight, but we were good enough to get away with what we did in the first half.”
Winger Christian Tuipulotu scored his first career hat-trick, his first-half double showing raw power and determination.
With 24 minutes left on the clock and trailing 28-6, Broncos five-eighths player Ezra Mam showed his physical prowess to get past fullback Tyrell Sloan to close the gap to 16.
In the 63rd minute, fullback Tristan Sailor, who had not exactly had a cheerful evening, found centre Kotoni Staggs with a flick pass and the Brisbane captain ran 55 metres to bring the crowd to life.
Dragons No. 6 Kyle Flanagan converted a penalty but Sloan defended poorly, allowing substitute Blake Mozer to jump over the ball.
Staggs got past Sloan for a thrilling goal.
Dragons coach Shane Flanagan said he was proud of the way his team dominated early on
Brisbane were dismal in the first three quarters and have dropped four points out of the top eight. They now need to win six of their last seven games to reach the finals, while the Dragons have climbed to eighth.
“What bothers me is I know we are a much better team than we are now,” Walters said.
“I’m just disappointed that’s what we’re throwing out and I’m disappointed in myself as a coach that’s what’s consistently presented. That’s not good enough. That’s on me.”
The first 50 minutes were a Red V feeling, with the pack dominant. Tuipulotu came over after a smooth ball from Mosese Suli in the seventh minute. Staggs was sent to the sin bin and Suli broke through the weak defence just before the Broncos star was about to come back onto the field.
Tuipulotu got past four defenders after a classic pass from Flanagan.
Sailor scored a bomb from Jesse Marschke and Su’A scored to give the Dragons their best first half of the year.