The Brisbane Broncos have moved into the NRL top eight with a thumping 34-12 win over the struggling Gold Coast Titans on Saturday.
The Broncos ran in six tries to two, including a first-half double to Kotoni Staggs, to move above Newcastle and into eighth position on the ladder with 19 points from 18 games.
For the second week in a row teenage prop, Payne Haas topped 200 run metres while fellow forwards Matt Lodge and David Fifita was hugely influential through the middle in the first half.
The defeat leaves the Titans rooted to the bottom of the ladder with just four wins so far in 2019 amid speculation the club's new coach will be named early next week.
The only sour note from the dominant display for Brisbane was lock Tevita Pangai Jnr being placed on report for a shoulder charge on Phillip Sami.
Pangai Jnr clobbered Sami in 27th minute as the centre fielded a kick, with the Tongan international placed on report and sin-binned for the challenge.
The 23-year-old now faces a nervous wait to know if he's facing a suspension ahead of Brisbane's clash with table-topping Melbourne at Suncorp Stadium next Friday.
Despite a bright start by Brisbane, it was only when the Titans had made a raid inside the Broncos' 20m zone that the visitors got the lead.
Michael Gordon's attempt to pass to Anthony Don was intercepted by Corey Oates, who sprinted 90m to score his 13th try of the season.
Gordon was then sin-binned after he stopped a rampaging David Fifita - who had shrugged off two Titans' tacklers - but held on too long for referee Ben Cummins' liking.
From the next set Lodge crawled under the black dot to extend the Broncos lead.
With Gordon still off the field, Staggs scored his first of the night after a before Pangai Jnr's hit on Sami levelled the teams at 12 players apiece.
Even without their No.13, the Broncos rolled on with Staggs scoring his second after Brisbane released a handful of offloads inside the Titans' 20m zone to break up their defensive line.
Gordon returned to score a much-needed try just before halftime for the hosts but before the break Jamayne Isaako ensured the Broncos held a mammoth 22-point lead at the break.
Don opened the scoring the second half for the Titans but the Broncos restored their margin when Anthony Milford fended away Sam Stone and sprinted through the Gold Coast defence.
Both teams finished with injury concerns, Sami didn't return after halftime due to the head knock sustained in Pangai Jnr's tackle while Dale Copley limped off with a hamstring strain late in the second term.
Alex Glenn also didn't come out for the second-half with the Broncos veteran suffering a groin strain.
AAP
