Rugby League: Broncos keep bolt to the top in high gear

SYDNEY - The Brisbane Broncos all but secured the minor premiership and firmed as National Rugby League favourites with a comprehensive 48-6 win over Penrith in Brisbane yesterday.

The Broncos continued their crushing form of recent weeks and moved three wins clear of the field with just four rounds remaining.

Centre Michael Devere was the chief beneficiary of Brisbane's dominance, scoring half their points through two tries and, for the third consecutive week, kicking eight goals.

The home side's forwards, led by Gorden Tallis, controlled the game up front, allowing veteran halfback Kevin Walters and fullback Darren Lockyer plenty of room to help the Broncos to eight tries.

It would have been nine, were it not for the antics of Chris Walker, who celebrated as he crossed the tryline but failed to ground the ball properly when pressured by a defender.

While the Broncos are the obvious team to beat, a battle for top-eight and top-four positions remains intense, with the teams from second to 10th place all within four points.

The Bulldogs dropped from the playoff race after losing 22-30 to the Northern Eagles in a messy game at Brookvale Oval yesterday.

Eagles centre Albert Torrens scored a club record four tries as his team leapfrogged the Bulldogs into 11th place but with only the slightest mathematical chance of reaching the playoffs.

The Bulldogs' New Zealand winger Daryl Halligan scored a try and kicked three goals to leave him two short of 2000 all-time NRL points.

The only team who appear capable of matching the Broncos are the Newcastle Knights, who hammered title pretenders the Sydney Roosters 46-12 at Marathon Stadium on Friday night.

Knights halfback Andrew Johns won his unofficial "best player in the world" battle with Roosters standoff Brad Fittler to guide his team to their most impressive win of the season.

The Roosters remain second, a point ahead of the Knights, who are level with defending champions Melbourne Storm.

The Storm repelled a fast-finishing North Queensland Cowboys in Townsville on Saturday night to win 26-22.

The Canberra Raiders' mixed form of late continued when they lost 20-30 at home to the St George-Illawarra Dragons.

The Dragons will be without key centre Jamie Ainscough for the rest of the season after he suffered a bicep injury.

They and the Sharks are one point outside the top eight on 22 points, while the Raiders are in a tie for fifth on 24 points with Penrith and the Wests Tigers.

For the second successive week, the unfashionable Tigers forced a higher-ranked team to drop out of the top eight, downing the Sharks 24-22 at Leichhardt Oval.

Parramatta hold down eighth place after their young side produced a gutsy 11-10 win over the Warriors in wet conditions at Auckland on Friday.

- NZPA