Brisbane brick wall denies persistent Sharks in thriller

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Brisbane Broncos v Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks

The Brisbane Broncos have kept their top four hopes alive with a gritty 12-10 win over a dogged Cronulla outfit at Suncorp Stadium in front of over 22,000 fans. 

Both the Broncos and Sharks entered Friday night's match in-form and desperate to boost their top four aspirations. 

After demolishing Penrith 50-18 last week, all eyes were on Brisbane to see if they could finally find much-needed consistency. 

And they were the first to strike, albeit against the run of play, in the 13th minute. Darius Boyd picked out a long ball from a flat-footed Matt Moylan before linking with Corey Oates who raced away to score.

The Sharks were quick to hit back after a series of offloads ended with Andrew Fifita going back inside to Valentine Holmes who sliced over in the 18th minute. Almost immediately the Broncos regained ascendancy, with Matthew Lodge barging over for his second try in as many weeks. 

Kodi Nikorima almost extended their lead in the 25th minute when he took on the Cronulla defence and surged over the line, only to drop the ball. The Sharks also experienced a close call two minutes later when Ricky Leutele went over out wide, only for replays to show that he grounded the ball on Jamayne Isaako's foot.

Both sides were resilient in defence and held on for the remainder of the first half, with the Broncos enjoying a 10-6 lead at the break.

James Segeyaro was Cronulla's best in the second half, with his speed out of dummy-half proving their greatest asset. The hooker went straight through the middle in the 43rd minute after outpacing Korbin Sims and Josh Mcguire before linking with Holmes who sprinted away for his second of the night. 

A 49th minute penalty saw Jordan Kahu boot Brisbane two points in front. Both teams had several chances to post more points in the next 30 minutes but they were equally committed in defence. 

As a result, the Broncos held on for a tense 12-10 win to push closer to the top four. 

Brisbane have a very strong chance of making it three-straight wins next week when they travel to ANZ Stadium to battle the Bulldogs on Thursday night. Meanwhile, Cronulla host the Sea Eagles next round on Sunday afternoon back in the Shire.