“He’s been one of our best all year, so full credit to him.”

Staggs all heart, but profound, mixed bag

Bestowed with the captaincy tag in the absence of Adam Reynolds (injury) and Pat Carrigan (Origin), Kotoni Staggs produced a performance that was the ultimate rocks or diamonds showcase.

Two unbelievable tries - each busting through multiple defenders - threatened to orchestrate one of the finest comebacks of the season, as pure passion and will got his side within four points after trailing by 22.

Ezra Mam and Blake Mozer got in on the late party - the latter crossing for his maiden NRL try NRL - while it Staggs’ 30m charge in the first half also laid the foundation for hooker Billy Walters to score.

But around those moments of brilliance, there were some brain fades that proved costly.

A lapse in judgement after chasing down Dragons’ halfback Jesse Marschke, slapping at hooker Jacob Liddle’s arm while not square at marker, cost him 10 minutes in the sin bin.

Seconds before his return to the fray, his opposite number Moses Suli strolled straight through where he would have been defending.

Two forced offloads also cost the Broncos both a try and gave the Dragons an opportunity of their own, but what cannot be understated was the heart Staggs showed for his teammates.

Where has the Broncos’ discipline gone?

For all the troops the Broncos are missing, they all could have been on deck and would have been unlikely to fix the key issue the side have faced: discipline.

Brisbane has made more errors than any side this year (212), and while it took 24 minutes to commit their first mistake against the Dragons, they were unable to defend the ones they did make.

In the first half alone, a forward pass out of dummy-half from Mam gifted St George-Illawarra one final chance to strike before Staggs returned from the sin bin, while Sailor and Staggs mistakes cost two more tries.

All six of their first half penalties were punished, and it was a simple dropped ball from Walters early in the second half that led to Christian Tuipolotu’s third try of the night.

Payne Haas, Reece Walsh, Selywn Cobbo, Carrigan (all Origin) and Reynolds would not have fixed those issues.

Walters’ men led the competition last year for errors too, but conceded fewer than three converted tries a game.

Until Mam’s try in the 55th minute, they had been tackled just four times inside the Dragons red zone compared to the 25 tackles they had been forced to make, conceding five tries from those chances.

Walters was left at odds for where this capitulation has come from, while Staggs admits last year’s ability to get through much of the campaign free of major injuries and fielding the same team had played a part.

“Injuries play a part of the game, we didn’t have many injuries last year - we had one to 13 nearly every week,” Staggs said.

“I’m not going to dwell on that, but the players we’ve got have got to know they’ve got to do a job as well, and I believe in this team that was out there tonight that they can change it around.”

Can Brisbane afford to rest Origin stars?

They may still mathematically be a chance to play finals, with no top four sides in their sights until the Melbourne Storm in round 27, but Brisbane can only afford to drop one more game if they are to make the top eight.

Yet, Walters refused to confirm he would play his Origin contingent for next Saturday’s clash in Newcastle.

Loading

Walters has been determined to keep his representative contingent back, but now may be forced to go against his desires if the club’s season is to stay alive.

“I’ll just see how the game goes on Wednesday night, and then we’ll make a decision based on facts and … we’ll talk to the players,” Walters said.

“But it’s no good playing and getting injured, and then they’re done for the year. I believe we can do that [make the finals]. But it’s not about my beliefs, it’s [the team’s] beliefs and things have got to change for that to happen.”