Once the St George Illawarra of 2010 got to the front in a game there was almost no running them down. Only twice all season did they lose after establishing a halftime lead. But in 2011, the Dragons have relinquished halftime leads on seven occasions – all of them in the second half of the season. Last Friday night they led the Tigers 12-6 at the break and looked to be in a dominant position. But Wests Tigers were first to score in the second half and quickly asserted their superiority. The Dragons’ records for attack and defence over the second half of the season paint a disturbing picture. Since Round 14 the Dragons have tallied scores of 146-70 in the first half of their matches but after halftime their performances have deteriorated. They have scored 99 points and conceded 164 in the second half of all games since Round 14.

Last year it was vastly different as they built towards their title victory. In the first half (from Round 14) they scored 116-66 and in the second it was 184-110. 

The Dragons travel to Brisbane this week with the unflattering record of two wins from their previous six matches. They will be greeted by a full house at Suncorp Stadium and will encounter a wave of support for local hero Darren Lockyer in his final game in his home state.

The statistics are also alarming for supercoach Wayne Bennett who has never won a finals series match at Suncorp. His Brisbane teams lost all six finals matches at the showpiece venue and he also suffered defeat there with the Dragons in 2009.

The only worry for the Broncos surrounds Test centre Justin Hodges, who failed to complete a training session early in the week.

Look for a Broncos try as First Scoring Play and a Brisbane victory by 1-12 points.

Players to include in First Tryscorer considerations are Jharal Yow Yeh, Jack Reed and Gerard Beale for the Broncos or Brett Morris, Matt Cooper or Jason Nightingale for the Dragons.