Brisbane’s big names stood tall to earn their side a narrow 12-10 win when the two sides met back in Round 6.
In a high-quality game at Suncorp Stadium between the two Queensland rivals, Brisbane opened the scoring after 11 minutes when Corey Parker’s offload was well grabbed by Scott Prince after a juggle before the veteran playmaker threw a brilliant cut-out pass for Lachlan Maranta to cross.
The Cowboys hit back through Ashley Graham after Johnathan Thurston’s clever ball created space for Brent Tate on the right, but it was Brisbane taking an 8-4 lead into the break as quick hands put Jack Reed away – the classy centre then kicking inside for Josh Hoffman to score.
Midway through the second half, North Queensland took the lead for the first time as Rory Kostjasyn targeted some lazy marker defence to spot a gap before offloading to Clint Greenshields. But the Broncos had the laugh last with a superb passing movement to the left allowing Hoffman to grab the match-winner.
Brisbane’s kicking game proved decisive, making 829 metres to 699 while they missed just 25 tackles to the Cowboys’ 36.
Ben Hannant was impressive up front for the home side with 181 metres – just ahead of opposing prop Matt Scott’s 174.