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The St George Illawarra Dragons have kicked off the 2018 season on a winning note, smashing a poor Brisbane Broncos outfit by 22 points at Kogarah.
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It was a sloppy start from both sides, but the final hour of the contest was dominated by the hosts with their opponents, who had won 13 of the last 14 between the sides, never getting out of first gear.
Brisbane looked clunky, struggling to string passes together and ending with 11 errors and just 38 per cent possession.
On the back of controversial recruit Matt Lodge and Tevita Pangai Junior, the Broncos looked the better of the sides as they put first points on the board with a penalty goal.
Sloppy discipline let the Dragons put two penalty goals of their own though, taking the lead of the match. Up 4-2, they then grabbed the first try through Tyson Frizell in the 28th minute as he crossed off a Ben Hunt grubber.
While the Dragons didn’t score again for the rest of the first half, they blew some opportunities and went to the halftime break with an eight-point lead.
Their combinations were starting to flow by the midway point though, errors being cut out of their game and Brisbane struggled to react.
While James Roberts was first to score after halftime, bringing the Broncos back to within four, it didn’t last for long with Ben Hunt scoring an intercept try against his old club and Euan Aitken also crossing on the right-hand side, beating Jordan Kahu in a one-on-one effort.
With another penalty goal involved, the Dragons lead had blown right out.
Roberts scored a second try to keep the visitors in the contest somewhat, but a soft try to Jack de Belin with just over ten minutes to go put the result beyond doubt.
Veteran winger Jason Nightingale put the icing on the cake for Paul McGregor’s side, scoring a front flip try in the corner just minutes from time.
The Dragons now get ready to take on the Cronulla Sharks next Thursday, while the Broncos will need to step up when they play the North Queensland Cowboys next Friday.
St George Illawarra Dragons 34
Brisbane Broncos 12