The St George Illawarra Dragons were defeated 16-12 by the Brisbane Broncos at WIN Stadium, Wollongong on Thursday.
The Young Dragons were outscored three tries to two, with Tony Pellow and Keelyn Tuuta-Edwards crossing in the four point loss.
Head Coach Mat Head had made a couple of changes prior to kick-off, with second-rower Stuart Mason promoted from the interchange in place of Luciano Leilua who had been elevated to the first-grade team.
Furthermore, lock Matt Jurd was also elevated to the starting line-up, forcing Nathan Latigaga back to the bench, while Brayden Gallagher and Israel Seufale were brought onto the bench.
It took an error from the Broncos to break the deadlock, with winger Tony Pellow picking off a dropped ball by the visitors to score untouched.
Dragons five-eighth Jai Field guided the conversion between the uprights despite kicking into a stiff breeze to give the Dragons a 6-0 lead after 25 minutes.
It looked like the Broncos had hit back shortly after, but a brilliant cover tackle by centre Pat Herbert took him into touch.
The visitors finally opened their account with five minutes left in the opening half, when fullback Corey Allan put winger into the corner with the long ball to bring the margin back to two points.
The Broncos added to their lead shortly after, with hooker Kalolo Saitaua burrowing his way over out of dummy half.
Broncos five-eighth Jamayne Isaako converted the try from directly in front to send his team into the sheds up 10-6.
The visitors looked to have extended their lead a minute into the second half, but another brilliant cover tackle by centre Matheson Johns stopped the Broncos in the corner.
The hosts levelled the scores moments later, when fullback Paora Kemp putting centre Keelyn Tuuta-Edwards in untouched to level the scores.
Field added the extras to give the Young Dragons a 12-10 lead with 32 minutes remaining in the half.
However, the Broncos re-took the lead with 15 minutes to go, with replacement Lachlan Lanskey crossing for a converted try for a 16-12 lead.
The visitors managed to hold onto their lead for a four point win.
St George Illawarra Dragons 12. Tries: Pellow, Tuuta-Edwards Goals: Field (2/2).
Brisbane Broncos 16. Tries: Smith, Isaako, Lanskey Goals: Isaako (2/3).
