Brisbane all but extinguished the Dragons' flickering finals hopes with a tough 12-8 win in awful conditions at WIN Stadium on Thursday night.
With suspended trio Tyson Frizell, Joel Thompson and Leeson Ah Mau watching on, and the injured Josh Dugan also in the civvies, the Dragons conceded just two tries but, in what has been the story of their season, could only produce a penalty goal in the opening 76 minutes.
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Broncos beat Dragons
The Brisbane Broncos hold on for a 12-8 win over the Dragons in wet conditions at Wollongong on Thursday night. 7 News
Gareth Widdop's late try from a Benji Marshall kick gave the Dragons a sniff but they ultimately left their run too late, sinking to their fifth straight loss that leaves them in 12th spot on the ladder with four games remaining.
They remain a mathematical chance of reaching the finals but the possibility exists more on the calculator than in reality ahead of their clash with ladder-leaders Cronulla at Kogarah next week.
The Broncos came into the clash with just two wins from their previous nine games and on a rapid tumble out of the top eight but were boosted by the return of Test reps Josh McGuire, Sam Thaiday and Matt Gillett.
Thaiday in particular shone in the opening exchanges and scored the only four-pointer of the first half when he grounded an Anthony Milford grubber in the Dragons in-goal midway through the opening stanza.Â
Under-fire halves Milford and Ben Hunt also returned to form, playing a measured hand to get their side home in the tough conditions that saw just 5,562 hardy souls brave the rain.
The visitors were on the board after just four minutes when Jake Marketo was penalised for holding back Anthony Milford in pursuit of a Andrew McCullough grubber with Corey Parker slotting the penalty goal for a 2-0 lead.
The Dragons levelled things up in the 14th minute after Corey Oates spilled a Marshall high ball to hand possession back to home side with Widdop making no mistake with a penalty shot right in front of the posts.Â
Thaiday scored in the 24th minute from the boot of Milford with Parker adding the extras for an 8-2 lead and the  Dragons couldn't find an equaliser despite a mountain of possession in the minutes before halftime.
Kurt Mann looked to have scored 12 minutes after the resumption when he won the race to a Gareth Widdop kick but a last ditch effort from Lachlan Maranta forced a mistake that saw the try denied by the bunker.Â
Maranta featured at the other end eight minutes later, scoring in the corner from a Darius Boyd cut-out ball to extend the lead to 12-2 with 18 minutes to play.
Widdop's try four minutes from time set up a grandstand finish but it was too little too late.