Brisbane overcame the loss of captain and star playmaker Adam Reynolds to defeat South Sydney 28-18 in a razzle dazzle display before 35,507 fans at Suncorp Stadium.
With Reece Walsh outpointing Latrell Mitchell in the battle of the superstar fullbacks, the Broncos stormed home in the second half after the Rabbitohs had equalled the scores at 12-12 in the 45th minute.
Walsh and rookie winger Deine Mariner scored two tries apiece, while left centre Selwyn Cobbo, in just his second match since moving from the wing, was too hard to handle for the Souths defence.
However, the win was dampened by an injury to Reynolds, who started the match with his right knee heavily strapped and was forced from the field in the 70th minute.
Concern for Reynolds' knee
The win was the first for the Broncos after losing their Round 1 match against Sydney Roosters at Allegiant Stadium, while the Rabbitohs remain winless after being beaten by Manly first up in Las Vegas.
Whether it jet lag or the 80% humidity in Brisbane at kick-off, the first half was an error-strewn affair in which both teams struggled to hang onto the ball.
Brisbane's completion rate was just 60 per cent and Souths were worse, finishing only 53 per cent of their sets of possession.
However, it was a more composed Souths team that came out of the sheds for the start of the second half and after conceding just two points to trail 12-0 while Damien Cook was in the sin bin they drew level within five minutes.
Cook sent to the bin
Tongan hooker Siliva Havili scored the first Rabbitohs try when he dummied and beat Jordan Riki and Pat Carrigan to force his way over from close range in the 43rd minute.
Havili then turned provider to put Cook Islands prop Davvy Moale over two minutes later after holding a pass up close to the line and the scores were suddenly locked at 12-12.
Davvy Moale Try
Cobbo helped regain the lead for the home side when he put winger Jesse Arthars over in the corner in the 52nd minute and the pair then combined for the try of the match 12 minutes later.
Walsh, who had scored in the first half, got his second try of the match after Cobbo sent Arthars racing down the left touch line and the winger kicked in field for the flying fullback, who received a favourable bounce to cross untouched.
Broncos right winger Deine Mariner opened the scoring in the 18th minute after Reynolds, who targeted Souths' left edge with his kicking, put the ball behind Alex Johnston and Richie Kennar for the speedster to regather in the in-goal.
Deine Mariner Try
The Broncos were leading 10-0 when Cook was sent to the sin-bin in the 30th minute for a professional foul after a Reynolds break but they were only able to add a penalty goal while Souths were down to 10-men.
The Rabbitohs started the second half strongest but Brisbane overpowered them to secure a comfortable win, with a late Mitchell try making the scoreline more respectable.
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Match snapshot
- The Broncos have now won four of their past five games against the Rabbitohs.
- Both teams struggled to hang onto the ball in the first half, with Souths completing just 10 of their 19 sets of possession and the Broncos getting to the last tackle on only 14 of 23 occasions.
- The Broncos won a rare scrum against the feed 10 metres from Souths' tryline in the 33rd minute.
- Rabbitohs prop Davvy Moale was placed on report for dangerous contact over a tackle on Pat Carrigan.
- Broncos centre Kotoni Staggs has scored six tries in seven games against the Rabbitohs.
- Broncos centre Selwyn Cobbo ran 176 metres with the ball and finished with a try assist, two line breaks, a line break assist and eight tackle breaks.
- Rabbitohs fullback Latrell Mitchell scored his 100th NRL try in the 80th minute.
Latrell Mitchell Try
Play of the game
Reece Walsh started and finished the match defining try when he passed to centre Selwyn Cobbo, who sent Jesse Arthars racing away. Confronted by the defence, Arthars kicked in-field and the ball evaded Latrell Mitchell before bouncing up for Walsh to collect and score in the 63rd minute.
Reece Walsh Try
What they said
"I thought it was an ugly game of footy, to be honest, but this time of the year is about winning. We’re a long way off where we need to be, and so were Souths, to be fair. There are some things to like there, with some individual players, but just as a team, we're just not quite nailing it yet. I'm just happy that we won because you need to win at this time of the year, just to breathe," - Broncos coach Kevin Walters.
Broncos: Round 2
"We played without Cookie for 10 minutes before half time and our defensive resolve during that period was outstanding, and that allowed us to come out with some momentum and get to 12-12, and we started looking like the footy team we want to be. We just didn't give ourselves a chance from that point on, it would be under 50% completion from that point on, and we just asked ourselves to do too much defending. You can't play footy off the back of that because you're exhausted, but they scored three tries from kicks on tackle five as well, so we've got to tidy that up," - Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou.
Rabbitohs: Round 2
What's next
The Broncos travel to Penrith on Thursday night to meet the three-times premiers in a re-match of last year's grand final, while the Rabbitohs take on arch rivals Sydney Roosters on Friday night at Allianz Stadium.
Brisbane coach Kevin Walters will be sweating on scans on the right knee of captain and star playmaker Adam Reynolds, who battled on in the second half before being forced from the field in the 70th minute.
“I just stirred up what was already there," Reynolds said. "It’s pretty sore but it felt OK during the game.
"I felt it a little bit before half time and thought it'd be alright to get back out there, but sort of hurt it in that tackle. I'll see how the scan goes tomorrow and then make a call from there. It's just a knee injury, it's nothing too serious."
Enterprising play from Reynolds
Star recruit Jack Wighton is expected to make his debut for Souths against the Roosters after completing a suspension incurred last season with the Raiders.