Widdop injured as Dragons pip Broncos in thriller

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Brisbane Broncos v St George Illawarra Dragons

Another potential shoulder injury to Gareth Widdop has soured a brave 25-24 win for the Dragons over the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium.

Having fumbled their way to a 24-18 deficit heading into the final ten minutes, Brisbane set up a thriller in unfortunate circumstances when Jack Bird capitalised on an error from the injured Widdop to lock things up.

But a last-second field goal to new recruit Corey Norman sealed a much-deserved victory for the Red V, their first of the 2019 season.

Vengeance was on the cards on Thursday night as the Broncos took on the same side that sent them crashing out of the 2018 Finals Series. 

And just like they did in last year's do-or-die clash, the under-siege Dragons started out in strong fashion, this time racing out to a 10-nil lead after just as many minutes.

The first try came after Cameron McInnes caught the Brisbane defenders napping, racing out of dummy-half to score a simple try in the fifth minute.

The Red V extended their lead five minutes later when Jordan Pereira tiptoed down the sideline to score in the corner. 

After a spirited win over rivals North Queensland last week, the Broncos came out incredibly flat, missing simple tackles in defence. In fact, the home side missed 23 tackles in the opening forty minutes.

But fortunately for them, the Dragons failed to go on with the job and instead invited Brisbane back into the contest by conceding two soft tries.

The first came when Corey Oates scooped up the loose ball off a Mikaele Ravalawa error. Then James Roberts evaded a few defenders before finding space and darting away to hand his team an unlikely lead at the break.

The Dragons needed to score first in the second half to be any hope of regaining ascendancy and did just that through a flying Fijian as Ravalawa soared over in the 46th minute. 

It came off the back of three back-to-back errors from Brisbane, who continued to be their own worst enemy.

Another mistake and later penalty saw Widdop kick St. George Illawarra out to a six-point lead but another soft try, this time to Alex Glenn off a simple Kodi Nikorima kick, levelled things up.

By this point momentum had swung back in Brisbane's favour, with the home side earning three-straight sets on the Dragons' line. To their credit, they would hold the Broncos out, albeit earning a reprieve after Jamayne Isaako came up with a cold drop on a certain try-scoring opportunity. 

And they were made to pay for that mistake, with the Red V marching upfield off a penalty before former Bronco Korbin Sims charged over. 

A Broncos win looked imminent following the Bird try and Widdop injury but the Dragons would end 25-24 victors. 

The visitors will aim to keep their momentum going next Sunday against Newcastle in the Hunter while Brisbane face off with the Roosters.