Broncos captain Adam Reynolds has turned on a masterclass to orchestrate a stunning 40-18 comeback win over St George Illawarra and set up a blockbuster 'Battle for Brisbane' showdown with the Dolphins next week.
In Saturday's earlier matches, the Warriors shocked North Queensland with a 26-12 victory in Townsville, while the Melbourne Storm recorded consecutive defeats after going down 38-34 to Gold Coast in Robina.
At Lang Park, Reynolds created tries for Kotoni Staggs in both halves with slick grubbers and landed a two-point field goal on the cusp of half-time after the Broncos had trailed 16-6.
Reynolds sealed the deal when his sleight of hand fooled the Dragons defence in the 70th minute for winger Selwyn Cobbo to score. Fullback Reece Walsh scored a late double and five-eighth Ezra Mam crossed the stripe as the home side scored four tries in the last 10 minutes.
Pat Carrigan played after having emergency dental surgery during the week and partnered with outstanding prop Payne Haas to bring the hosts home the stronger.
The undefeated Broncos and Dolphins will clash next Friday night at the same venue in what promises to be a clash for the ages.
The performances of Dragons fullback Tyrell Sloan and five-eighth Jayden Sullivan were strong and will give the Red V the belief they have the young spine members to partner skipper Ben Hunt and challenge for the top eight.
The Dragons had more energy, were better disciplined and more aggressive up front in the opening stanza to take a 16-8 lead at half-time.
Bench forwards Josh Kerr, Zane Musgrove and Michael Molo were in powerhouse mode and swamped the Broncos, who appeared listless, disorganised and error-ridden.
After Dragons winger Mathew Feagai dived over for the opening try, back rower Jaydn Su'A unfurled a silky short ball for fullback Sloan to speed onto and score for the visitors. Sullivan then tore past his opposite number Mam and the visitors had shot out to a 16-6 lead.
Broncos hooker Cory Paix went over after half-time and the hosts never looked back after that on their way to six unanswered tries in the second term as the Dragons fell away.
Haas was put on report for a high shot on Dragons prop Michael Molo.
Warriors upset Cowboys
Andrew Webster's Warriors have ended a 13-match losing streak in Australia via an impressive 26-12 win over North Queensland in Townsville.
The Warriors looked fit, clinical and cohesive in both attack and defence and ran away with the contest early in the second half after taking a 16-12 lead into the break.
It was the Warriors' first win in Townsville in five years.
Shaun Johnson looked like the magician of old and orchestrated their shapes well, squaring up the Cowboys' line for his bullocking pack.
His halves partner Te Maire Martin also impressed, finishing with two try assists and three line-break assists.
But it was the Warriors' forwards who did the damage, using deft short passing to unlock the host's defensive line.
Six forwards finished with over 100 running metres, while 11 players in total cracked the three-digit mark.
With all the possession and territory early in the second stanza, a relieving penalty gave the Warriors field position for Adam Pompey to bowl over three defenders and find Edward Kosi for a 22-12 lead.
Soon after they were back deep in the Cowboys' half and Martin's cut-out pass arrowed to Marcelo Montoya for a diving finish and the winger's second.
Montoya led his side with a polished performance running for 214 metres, but even with two tries it was his tough runs that had an enormous impact.
Townsville-junior Tom Chester impressed in his starting debut at fullback and it was the 21-year-old who opened North Queensland's account four minutes into the match.
Addin Fonua-Blake then split a hole in the defensive line and found hooker Wayde Egan for the Warriors to respond immediately.
Chester latched onto another Chad Townsend kick five minutes later, this time air-borne, and somehow found Reece Robson in an offload as both hookers were on the score sheet within 15 minutes.
With 64 per cent of possession over the next 10 minutes, the Warriors bagged their second after a sniping run to the left edge by Johnson, with Montoya the beneficiary in a three-on-one short-side play.
The Warriors' stranglehold in the contest continued and after another handling error by the Cowboys within their own half, Johnson took on the line and Jazz Tevaga had their third.
Titans hand Storm another loss
An error-riddled Melbourne Storm have dropped a second straight match, with Gold Coast the benefactors in oppressive heat to prevail in Robina.
Trailing 24-12 just prior to half-time, a Storm mistake opened the door and a late Brian Kelly try breathed life into the Titans' cause.
Two more unforced Storm knock-ons to begin the second half allowed Joe Vuna and Aaron Schoupp to run away for tries, while Tariq Sims coughed up a ball on his 20-metre line and Schoupp no sooner had his second.
That put the Titans up by 10 points, but a late Xavier Coates try proved another twist with less than four minutes to play.
But two-try winger Alofiana Khan-Pereira tackled Will Warbrick into touch and a Trent Loiero shoulder charge was the final nail in the Storm's coffin.
Twelve tries were scored in all, with the Storm completing just 24 of 37 sets and making 16 errors to go with eight penalties.
Victory was crucial for a Titans side that faded badly against St George Illawarra last week, while the Storm's problems mount after a loss to Canterbury last week.
Things were looking up earlier when debutant five-eighth Jonah Pezet dummied and skipped around Schoupp for the Storm's first try, his delight obvious in front of family after a 2021 move from Newcastle.
The 20-year-old has been dubbed Cameron Munster's heir apparent after a starring role for NSW in last year's under-19 State of Origin drew great praise from Andrew Johns.
His competent first-half performance was part of a wild 40 minutes played in oppressive heat.
Khan-Pereira had two early tries, his second a solo effort that left rival winger Warbrick blushing and clutching at air.
But poor ball security undid their good work, regular mistakes piggy-backing the Storm.
Sims also scored under the posts with just his second touch on club debut, while fullback Nick Meaney also scored twice.
Fixtures
Ladder
AAP/ABC
