- Walters lashed out at his players after their sixth consecutive defeat
- The Broncos are now 13th in the NRL standings and need a win
- The coach stormed out of the locker room after the match.
Brisbane’s hopes of reaching the finals were shattered after St George Illawarra held on to win 30-26 and hand last year’s grand finalists their sixth consecutive defeat.
No team in NRL Premiership history has lost so many games in a row and still won the title.
The Dragons crushed and routed the Broncos in the first half, with Queensland dropout second-row Jaydn Su’A playing one of his best games against his former club at Suncorp Stadium.
The visitors scored three of their four first-half tries in a nine-minute space to take a 22-6 lead at the break and stun the 34,224-strong crowd. Three of those tries came as a result of Brisbane errors.
Broncos coach Kevin Walters was furious after the game and lashed out at his players before storming out of the shed.
“He’s not happy because they’re losing, obviously,” Mal Meninga said as the video played.
“I think it’s a football thing. I think it has something to do with their roster and a little bit with their execution.”
At the post-match press conference, Walters still appeared upset.
Broncos coach Kevin Walters was furious after the game and took it out on his players.
Brisbane’s hopes of reaching the final were shattered after losing 30-26 to the Dragons
“What bothers me… is that I know we’re much better than what we’re doing,” he said.
“I’m disappointed that that’s what we’re putting forward. And I’m disappointed in myself as a coach because that’s what’s constantly being put forward – it’s not good enough. And that’s my fault.”
Dragons coach Shane Flanagan said he was proud of the way his team dominated from the start.
“Our first 40 minutes were like the Dragons’ and the first 10 minutes of the second half were pretty good too,” he said.
“We let them get the ball back, but we were good enough to come away with what we did in the first half.”
Winger Christian Tuipulotu scored his first career hat-trick, his first-half brace demonstrating raw power and willpower.
With 24 minutes left and trailing 28-6, Broncos five-eighth Ezra Mam flexed his physical muscles and forced his way past fullback Tyrell Sloan to cut the lead to 16.
In the 63rd minute, defender Tristan Sailor, who had not had a happy night, found centre Kotoni Staggs with a quick pass and the Brisbane captain ran 55 metres to get the crowd going.
Dragons No. 6 Kyle Flanagan scored a penalty, but Sloan was poor at defending and allowed substitute Blake Mozer to crash over.
Staggs outlasted Sloan and set the stage for a nail-biting finish.
Dragons coach Shane Flanagan said he was proud of the way his team dominated early on.
Brisbane had a dismal first three quarters and fell four points off the top eight. They must now win six of their last seven games to make the finals, while the Dragons have moved up to eighth.
“What bothers me is that I know we’re a much better team than what we’re doing,” Walters said.
“I’m disappointed that this is what we’re getting and I’m disappointed in myself as a coach because that’s what’s constantly being presented. It’s not good enough. That’s my responsibility.”
The first 50 minutes belonged to the Red V, with the group dominating. Tuipulotu was the winner after a clever pass from Mosese Suli in the seventh minute. Staggs was penalised and Suli broke through the weak defence just before the Broncos star was about to return to the field.
Tuipulotu beat four would-be defenders after a classic Flanagan pass.
A Jesse Marschke bomb was spilled by Sailor and Su’A pounced to score and give the Dragons their best first half of the year.