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Just when you thought the Roosters’ goose was cooked, they have shown they will not give up their perennial playoff berth without a fight.
And just when you thought the Broncos were title contenders under new coach Michael Maguire, they put up a shoddy showing to prove they are nowhere near the class of 2025 benchmark teams Melbourne and Canterbury.
Trent Robinson took a gamble by dumping experienced half Chad Townsend for rookie Hugo Savala but the Tricolours were the better side throughout Friday night’s contest at Suncorp Stadium to record a thoroughly deserving 26-16 win.
In the earlier match at WIN Stadium, rookie forward Dylan Egan outplayed his millionaire opposite number David Fifita as the Dragons trounced the Titans 38-16.
The Roosters only have two wins from the opening six rounds but they have beaten Penrith and now Brisbane on the road.
Staring down the barrel of a 1-5 start, Robinson bit the bullet and punted Townsend with his under-performing veteran playmaker replaced by a rookie in Savala.
Halves partner Sandon Smith saw the writing on the wall and produced his best performance of the year to propel the Roosters to a rousing win when they could have easily turned up their toes on a couple of occasions.
They could be without Billy Smith and Angus Crichton for the next week or two with the centre in strife for a high shot on Reece Walsh which sent him to the sin bin and Crichton on report for using his forearm while in possession.
His elbow connected with Adam Reynolds after Crichton had made a break and his old Rabbitohs teammate appeared to be in a lot of discomfort after the blow.
Reece Walsh is tackled by Billy Smith. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
But the Roosters got a break when Broncos forward Jack Gosiewski was sin-binned for high contact late in the first half, scoring two tries to go 20-12 up at the break.
And in a scrappy second half they kept turning up, particularly with their scramble defence to continually repel Brisbane’s late attempts at a come-from-behind win.
The Roosters haven’t missed the playoffs since 2016, the only time during Robinson’s 12-year reign, and if they can maintain this kind of form, they will again be in the top eight at the end of this season.
They have a roster capable of going all the way but Brisbane lack the cohesion and the knockout punch to be considered true title contenders.
It’s only Round 6 so they have plenty of time to prove they can go deep in the playoffs but on current form, they are in the second tier of challengers behind the Storm and Bulldogs as the teams to beat.
Reynolds shrugged off his hamstring concern to suit up at halfback so there was no reason for Brisbane to be below their best.
Walsh again had a few starring moments from fullback but as has been the case in his five earlier appearances this season, they were too few and far in between.
The Broncos got the upper hand over the Roosters in most of the key stats but when it came to the big moments, they were second best.
They caned the Roosters 50-14 in Round 1 and have accounted for the Cowboys, Dolphins and Tigers while also going down to the Raiders in Canberra.
At 4-2, they are definitely on track to return to the finals and possibly the top four after last season’s spiral down to 12th but the Broncos need to up their intensity and their finishing touches.
Billy Smith underlined why the Roosters have stuck by him through his many injuries with an eye-catching display at left centre.
In just his second match of the year, Smith snared two tries and spent 10 minutes in the bin during an eventful the first half, outplaying Kotoni Staggs.
His namesake, Sandon Smith, stepped up to be the chief organiser after Townsend’s axing and controlled proceedings like a veteran even though he is only 22 with just 34 NRL appearances under his belt.
Billy soared to steal a bomb from Walsh in the 14th minute as the Roosters raced to an 8-0 lead before he was marched for his high shot on the same player.
That helped Brisbane get back into the contest with Selwyn Cobbo snatching an intercept and Walsh backing up Reynolds for a double strike while Smith was cooling his heels.
When Gosiewski was also given 10 minutes on the sidelines by referee Peter Gough, the visitors responded with Billy Smith pouncing on a James Tedesco grubber and Crichton benefiting from a Connor Watson offload.
Frustration boiled over late in the first half when Roosters prop Spencer Leniu clocked Staggs while he was on the ground after a tangled tumble with Sandon Smith.
“That’s fair game,” said Phil Gould on Nine commentary with the Canterbury general manager doubling down on his controversial defence of Bulldogs hooker Reed Mahoney for a similar incident against Cronulla a couple of weeks ago.
There was not much that will make the end-of-season highlight reel from the Roosters in the second half unless you are one of those sickos who gets off on scramble defence.
Red, white and blue jerseys kept turning up to snuff out Broncos attacking raids and with Nat Butcher barging over for a try in the 65th minute to cancel out a Jesse Arthars four-pointer, Trent Robinson’s team hung on for what could be the type of win that can turn their season around after their sluggish start.
The Illawarra St George Steelers ran out onto WIN Stadium in their scarlet strip in a rare night of honouring their Wollongong heritage.
And it was the kind of performance that brings a smile to the face of the rusty old Steelers who made the picturesque seaside venue one of the toughest road trips in the competition a generation ago.
There are signs of life for the Dragons’ season despite their 2-3 start with two of those losses by a point after leading by 12.
This time around they were not to be denied with Valentine Holmes, Luciano Leilua and Kyle Flanagan having a field day with the Gold Coast “defence”.
Excitable winger Christian Tuipulotu even got to revive his “money man” try-scoring celebration as he touched down twice and even trotted it out for the cameras when he was on the bench in the second half for a teammate’s four-pointer.
Tuipulotu strained his hamstring to earn himself an early mark and Dragons coach Shane Flanagan said the injury would only put him out for “a week or so”.
After trading early tries, the Dragons shot clear four tries in the space of 11 minutes before and after half-time to go 28-4 up.
Tyrell Sloan is growing into his role on the right wing after Clint Gutherson’s arrival forced him away from fullback.
He chimed onto the end of the backline for one try and rightfully had another one denied after accepting a forward pass which went at least two metres forward before the Bunker intervened to call out a knock-on in the lead-up.
“We haven’t been able to put our foot on the throat or go to another level and today we did, so it was nice to see that we could kick away,” Flanagan said.
The Dragons have unearthed a willing worker in Dylan Egan, an early contender for rookie of the year honours, in the fertile South Coast soil of Gerringong.
In just his third NRL appearance, he was promoted to the starting side and hustled and bustled his way to a strong performance.
The 20-year-old second-rower tallied 122 running metres from 13 runs, made a game-high 47 tackles and scored a well-deserved try late in the piece.
There is nothing fancy about Egan’s game.
Built low to the ground, he is the kind of non-stop performer that the Dragons have lacked in recent seasons and with fellow Gerringong product Hamish Stewart and Toby Couchman also coming of age in the pack, Shane Flanagan has a few building blocks up front for his team of the future.
After winning two straight, which is known as a streak in Gold Coast parlance, the Titans have turned in two putrid performances (which is known as par for the course in their neck of the NRL woods).
Their edge defence against the Dragons wreaked of a team that had just met each other moments before kick-off.
There was no communication, little application and plenty of red faces as some defenders slid wide while others rushed up.
It’s a make of break season for Des Hasler in the middle of his three-year deal and even though they were without their two most reliable players in suspended captain Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and injured fullback Keano Kini, their effort in Wollongong was woeful.
Hasler ripped into the NRL’s high tackle crackdown last week after their 36-10 thrashing by the Dolphins but this time around he could offer no explanations for the heavy defeat.
“We’ve got to compete better, we’ve got to manage games better, stop coming up with excuses,” he said.
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