The Warriors almost managed a great escape, but a 79th minute Marcelo Montoya try – which would have levelled the scores - was scratched after Adam Pompey pulled back a defender.
Their late revival, from seemingly nowhere, was impressive, as they had trailed 26-10 with six minutes to play.
But it wasn’t quite enough and there was an inescapable sense that the Warriors had under-estimated the ‘Baby Broncos’ and they paid a big price.
It was meant to be a great occasion in Napier, in front of a large 16,195 crowd, but the party didn’t really get going until the last 10 minutes.
The loss of Freddy Lussick and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad to HIA checks (Nicoll-Klokstad ultimately returned) didn’t help the Warriors’ cause, but the Broncos were dominant before the departures.
Until their late finale, Warriors never quite clicked. For most of the match the timing was off and errors crept in. When they did make inroads, the Queensland team had the answers.
Brisbane halfback Adam Reynolds was superb – especially with his kicking game – and the unheralded Broncos pack upstaged their opposites. Luke Metcalf had a difficult debut in a beaten side and the Warriors lacked punch off the bench.
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The result means the Warriors slip to a 6-6 record, ahead of the Mt Smart clash with the Redcliffe Dolphins next Saturday.
Though it was a depleted Brisbane outfit, they still had plenty of quality in key positions, along with belief garnered from eight wins in 2023.
The first half was about defence, especially from the visitors.
The Broncos went close early, with Nicoll-Klokstad stopping Corey Jensen under the posts. The Warriors then had three golden opportunities. A diving Dallin Watene-Zelezniak couldn’t reel in a precise Shaun Johnson chip, before Rocco Berry went agonisingly close, stopped by a miraculous Tristan Sailor intervention over the line. The stand-in fullback was prominent minutes later, part of a group effort that denied Watene-Zelezniak.
There was nothing to show from all that pressure, then Brisbane winger Deine Mariner opened the scoring with an opportunist 85-metre effort, after Montoya fumbled an errant Metcalf pass. It was a hammer blow, but reflective of an attack that looked slightly out of sync.
They persevered, with Lussick held up over the line, before Watene-Zelezniak was centimetres away, landing on the sideline as he caught a Johnson bomb.
Frustration was building, before Watene-Zelezniak finally got across, after a slick backline move. It was just reward for the Kiwis winger, who created the momentum, winning a penalty with a busting run.
But a sloppy first half was summed up by what happened next, with Tom Ale spilling moments after the kick-off, before Jordan Riki slipped through some weak defence from close range, though the final pass looked forward.
The Warriors lost Lussick to concussion in the 47th minute, then Nicoll-Klokstad for a HIA check three minutes later.
An Ezra Mann try – created brilliantly by Reynolds – extended their advantage, followed quickly by a Reynolds penalty. A Watene-Zelezniak try gave some hope, after Johnson and Marata Niukore combined well on the right edge.
But the door appeared to be slammed shut by Mariner’s second try – engineered by Reynolds – which gave the Broncos a 26-10 advantage.
However, the Warriors found something late, with tries to Nicoll-Klokstad and Montoya setting up the crazy finish.
The Warriors thought they had at least forced golden point – with another try to Montoya - before the bunker intervened to correctly rule on Pompey’s rash move.
Warriors 22 (Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 2, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Marcelo Montoya tries; Shaun Johnson 3 cons)
Broncos 26 (Deine Mariner 2, Jordan Riki, Ezra Mann tries; Adam Reynolds 4 cons, pen)
Halftime: 6-12
