Young stars Reece Walsh and Ezra Mam made compelling cases for Queensland Origin selection as they led the Broncos to a razzle dazzle win against an injury hit Raiders at Suncorp Stadium.
With Australian golf star Cam Smith among the 37,286 Brisbane crowd, the Broncos turned entertainers as they raced in five unanswered first half tries in wet conditions before running out 34-10 winners.
Walsh scored two tries and kicked five goals for a personal tally of 18 points and made three line breaks, seven tackle breaks while running 177 metres with the ball.
Mam, who was playing halfback in the absence of injured captain Adam Reynolds, scored a try and produced three try assists in a performance that solidified his claims for an Origin debut.
Trailing 28-0 at halftime, the Raiders suffered a further blow when star halfback Jamal Fogarty was ruled out of the remainder of the match with a biceps injury.
Teenage Canberra fullback Chevy Stewart was targeted by the Broncos and made four first half errors, while he was hit in a heavy tackle by Kobe Hetherington and forced into his own in-goal on a number of occasions.
However, like his team-mates, Stewart didn't stop trying in tough conditions.
Raiders forward Hudson Young appeared to have scored the opening try of the match when he dived onto a Danny Levi grubber into the Broncos in-goal but replays showed the NSW Origin representative knocked the ball on.
Instead, it was the Broncos who scored first in the 13th minute, despite completing just three of their opening six sets of tackles and spending most of the early exchanges down their own end of the field.
Walsh bought the home crowd to their feet when he sliced through the Raiders defensive line and stepped past four would be tacklers on a 40-metre run to the tryline.
With momentum shifting their way, the Broncos were only denied another try on the next set of tackles by the desperation from James Schiller after an Ezra Mam tackle jolted the ball loose from Stewart.
As the ball spewed backwards into the Canberra in-goal, Brisbane centre Selwyn Cobbo was poised to pounce but Schiller got a toe to it just before his rival's hand and kicked the ball dead.
However, it wasn't long before the Broncos would score again, with prop Fletcher Baker running through to field a kick from Mam and offloading for second-rower Jordan Riki to score in the 17th minute.
Mam then scored a try of his own three minutes later after Stewart spilled a spiralling bomb and the Brisbane playmaker toed the ball ahead before diving on it in the Canberra in-goal.
Broncos hooker Billy Walters was the next to score when he grubbered ahead for himself and won the race for the ball to extend the home team's lead to 24-0 in even time.
Walsh then grabbed his second try in the 28th minute after racing into a gap as he received a pass from five-eighth Jock Madden near the Canberra line.
The star fullback missed his first conversion of the match, but the 28-0 halftime lead was the most points the Broncos have scored against the Raiders in an opening 40-minute stanza since joining the premiership in 1988.
With Fogarty unable to return after halftime, rookie Simi Sasagi, who had started the match in the second-row, shifted to the halves and he scored Canberra's first try in the 50th minute.
However, the Broncos soon regained control and Cobbo scored in the 56th minute to extend the home team's lead to 34-6.
Raiders winger Xavier Savage scored a consolation try in the 67th minute but it was too little too late and Brisbane celebrated back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
Match snapshot
- The Broncos have won their past six games at Suncorp Stadium.
- Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has overseen just five wins in 20 matches as coach at Suncorp Stadium.
- Broncos forward Pat Carrigan ran 194 metres with the ball, while prop Corey Jensen carried the ball for 186m.
- Broncos centre Selwyn Cobbo has scored six tries in four games against the Raiders.
- Broncos fullback Reece Walsh has scored 10 tries in his past 11 games.
Play of the game
Reece Walsh's opening try was a piece of individual brilliance that turned the game after the Broncos had spent much of the opening exchanges defending their own line.
What they said
"It was a great first half, that is our best half of footy this year. We now have to work on some things in the second half. Still, we take the wins at this time of the year. They are a good side, and I thought we did some really good things in that first half to set up the win. All of our players are getting better, it is just about getting better for the 80 minutes, but I am going to take the win and be happy with that," - Broncos coach Kevin Walters.
"At the 15-minute mark there it could have been 6-0 [to Canberra] with Huddo spilling the ball over the line, and then they went down the other end and put 24 points on us with three tries from kicks. They were a bit rattled at halftime and my message was that all I'm focused on is the next 40 minutes and how you handle it. I thought they showed some character in how they withstood the adversity in the battle because that could have been anything tonight if we didn't show some composure," - Raiders coach Ricky Stuart.
What's next
The Broncos travel to Campbelltown to meet Wests Tigers next Saturday, while the Raiders host the Sharks in Canberra on Sunday.
Brisbane coach Kevin Walters faces a selection headache if injured captain Adam Reynolds (hamstring), Test prop Payne Haas (knee) and second-rower Brendan Piakura (ankle) are available.
In contrast, Canberra coach Ricky Stuart is likely to need to find a halfback replacement for Jamal Fogarty after he suffered a biceps injury in the second half.
