Brisbane have administered last rites to Canterbury's failing season with a 42-12 drubbing of the Bulldogs at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.
Despite a promising start, the blue-and-whites conceded two tries just before halftime before the Broncos turned on an outstanding second half to execute a 30-point victory in front of just over 24,000 fans in the Queensland capital.
Indeed it was the 'Dogs who got on the board first when Marcelo Montoya bagged the opening try off a right-side overlap, thanks to some quick hands from his backline.
The 8th minute opener was cancelled out after 23 minutes when Tautau Moga streaked away on the back of an Andrew McCullough break up the surprisingly soft centre of defence for Canterbury.
Then as they invariably have all season, the Bulldogs conceded a raft of pre-halftime points when first Ben Hunt strolled through a broken defensive line, then Jordan Kahu scored a dubious four-pointer of his own on the siren after several forward passes were missed in the build-up. Regardless, the normally-resolute Canterbury defence was cracking badly in a show of what was to come over the next forty minutes.
A Kahu penalty goal was the only score in the first part of the second half, Brisbane opting for a two point addition to take them two converted tries ahead at the 50-minute mark. They almost crossed in the 56th minute through Jonus Pearson but the winger had failed to ground the ball, and Bulldogs' five-eighth Josh Reynolds had interfered with the lead-up play, so it was called back for a penalty after a review by the Bunker.
Wayne Bennett's side didn't have to wait long for redemption, with the next eight minutes delivering three classy tries. Kodi Nikorima tore the Canterbury defence apart before Josh McGuire and James Roberts piled on.
With the result beyond doubt, the 'Dogs luck flipped in the 70th minute when Adam Blair was sin-binned for deliberately slowing down a quick tap. The Broncos forward spent the remainder of the game in the sheds, allowing the visitors to peg one try back through Chase Stanley. Brisbane weren't done though - somehow creating an overlap in the final moments of the contest for James Roberts to double his tryscoring tally for the night.
Canterbury have another Thursday night away game next week as they look to save face from an awful season and relieve the growing pressure on coach Des Hasler. They head to Pepper Stadium to face the ever-improving Panthers, while Brisbane will look to consolidate their top four berth when they travel to ANZ next Friday to face Parramatta.