A strong defensive display from the Brisbane team, coupled with a lack of respect for the ball from the Sharks, has seen the Broncos come away with a 16-7 victory at Suncorp Stadium.
The Sharks took a 7-6 lead into half time but were unable to hold off the Broncos in the second period, two Brisbane tries enough to secure the result for the home team.
First points came from some clever play from Matt Moylan, the Sharks five eighth grubbering for himself then easily winning the race for the ball.
Nicho Hynes converted to make it 6-0 to the Sharks, who looked like holding onto that advantage into the break, until Kotoni Staggs crossed wide out, then converted his own four-pointer, to level the scores at 6-apiece.
With only seconds left in the opening 40-minutes a Hynes field goal sent the Sharks to half time with a one-point advantage but that would be their last lead of the night, the two Broncos tries, scored by Herbie Farnsworth and Kurt Capewell, both down their left hand side of the field and at 16-7 the Cronulla team had it all to do.
Looking fatigued from the defensive work they were forced to do, due in part to a completion rate of just 70 percent, the Sharks had their chances but never managed to find the finishing touches to get across the line.
It was a disappointing result for the Sharks who slipped to five wins and three losses from their eight matches so far this season.
Despite the loss the Sharks had a number of strong performers on the night, with Moylan and Will Kennedy amongst the best for their team with ball in hand, the fullback running for a game high 204 metres, while Blayke Brailey made 51 tackles in a tireless effort in defense.
The much-publicised clash of Staggs and Siosifa Talakai out wide certainly lived up to the hype, the Broncos centre defending aggressively and while only making the lone line break, that run resulted in a crucial try. As for Talakai, the Sharks powerhouse could still hold his head high after running for 164 metres on 16 carries as he tried to lift his team to a victory.
After two successive Thursday night games the Sharks now have a long turnaround to their next match which will be against the Warriors at PointsBet Stadium on Sunday, May 8.
