Justin Hodges watched from the stands but Brisbane were too good for an injury-battered St George claiming a 21-14 win in their NRL rugby league clash at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.
The long-awaited return of Hodges from a hamstring injury will stretch to six weeks for the Broncos but his replacement Jack Reed turned in one of the games of his young NRL career.
The Bribie Island product had a hand in both of Queensland winger Jharel Yow Yeh's tries before barging over for one himself in the 58th minute.
The St George five eight Jamie Soward, who backed up his first class performance with the Blues on Wednesday night with another strong game that stretched the defence on several occasions, combined with a runaway Mark Gasnier in the 52nd minute to pull the Dragons back into the contest.
But a Darren Lockyer field goal in the 75th minute ended any hope of a St George revival.
The loss means the Dragons have not tasted victory in their last three games, with two losses and a draw against Parramatta and leaves the red and whites in danger of losing their place at the top of the NRL ladder with four teams, including the Broncos, in level second just one point behind the Dragons.
