Brisbane were yesterday knocked off the top of the NRL standings after suffering their first loss of the season, falling to St George Illawarra 28-20 in an eventful contest in Sydney.
The result saw the Bulldogs move ahead of the Broncos on differential, and meant just one competition point separated a
top four that also includes Newcastle and the Warriors.
Brisbane had more than half of their squad backing up from Queensland's loss to New South Wales in the first State of Origin clash last Wednesday and weariness appeared to set in near the end.
The Dragons, who moved into the top eight, scored five tries to four, with winger Shane Laloata getting a hat-trick.
The game at Aussie Stadium was in the balance until the dying stages, when an unconverted try to St George Illawarra fullback Amos Roberts was followed by a penalty goal.
In Newcastle, the Knights had five of their players returning from Origin duty, but the defending champions easily accounted for South Sydney 42-16.
Souths tried hard, in particular former Warriors hooker Jason Death, but Newcastle were never in trouble as they scored seven tries, two to NSW winger Timana Tahu.
Skipper Andrew Johns kicked seven goals from as many attempts.
In Canberra, the Raiders won a battle between two struggling clubs by beating North Queensland 32-20, a result that dropped the Cowboys to the bottom of the standings.
The Bulldogs maintained their impressive away record by downing the Northern Eagles 28-10 at Gosford.
The win meant the Bulldogs had lost just one of their past 17 matches on the road and are unbeaten away from home this season.
In Melbourne, the Warriors beat the Storm 28-12 to stay in fourth spot, but they have opened up a three-point gap on fifth-placed Parramatta.
Penrith pipped the Sharks 24-22 at home to climb out of the cellar, with Kiwis forward Tony Puletua scoring two of his side's five tries.
On Friday night, a fresh Brad Fittler led the Sydney Roosters to an 18-4 away win over fellow top-eight side Parramatta.
- NZPA
