The Broncos had one hand on the Battle of Brisbane after racing to a 24–0 lead. By fulltime, the Dolphins had ripped it from their grasp.
Brisbane suffered a brutal 40–32 defeat to the Dolphins at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday, 8 August, surrendering a four-try advantage after producing a blistering opening to the Round 23 derby.
Ezra Mam completed a first-half hat-trick as the Broncos piled on five tries inside 36 minutes and led 30–18 late in the opening half. But Herbie Farnworth’s try just before the break gave the Dolphins a way back, and Brisbane managed only two points in the entire second half as the contest swung dramatically.
Broncos Tear the Derby Open
For the opening 20 minutes, Brisbane were rampant.
Billy Walters’ 40/20 provided the first opening and Mam took advantage, breaking through for the game’s opening try in the fourth minute. Reece Walsh converted before Mam struck again three minutes later.
Deine Mariner added another in the 13th minute and Xavier Willison crossed in the 20th, with Walsh converting both to send the Broncos 24–0 clear midway through the first half.
It was the sort of start that threatened to put the Battle of Brisbane away early.
Instead, the Dolphins found a response.
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow crossed in the 24th minute, Connelly Lemuelu followed in the 27th and Jamayne Isaako added a third Dolphins try in the 33rd. Brisbane’s 24-point cushion had suddenly been cut to six.
Mam answered in the 35th minute, completing his hat-trick and restoring a 30–18 advantage. It looked an important circuit-breaker after the Dolphins’ surge.
But Brisbane would not score another try.
Farnworth crossed in the 39th minute and Isaako converted on halftime, reducing the Broncos’ lead to 30–24 and ensuring a dominant opening half had produced only a six-point buffer.
Six-Point Lead Disappears
The momentum that had driven Brisbane’s opening assault was gone after the break.
Errors and infringements gave the Dolphins opportunities to keep coming at the Broncos, and Lemuelu’s second try in the 50th minute brought them within two. Isaako converted and, for the first time since kick-off, Brisbane no longer had the lead.
Walsh gave the Broncos a temporary reprieve with a penalty goal in the 59th minute, putting them back ahead 32–30. Those would be Brisbane’s only points of the second half.
After an Isaiya Katoa bomb, Tabuai-Fidow crossed for his second try in the 67th minute. Isaako converted and the Broncos, who had once led by four converted tries, were suddenly behind 36–32.
There were still more than 10 minutes to play, but Brisbane could not find the response they had produced so easily early.
Cobbo Puts Broncos Away
Selwyn Cobbo delivered another blow in the 71st minute, crossing to stretch the Dolphins’ advantage to 40–32.
Isaako missed the conversion, leaving Brisbane needing a converted try and another score, but the Broncos could not generate the sustained pressure required.
An unsuccessful captain’s challenge came with less than five minutes remaining, while handling errors during the closing stages further disrupted Brisbane’s attempts to mount a comeback of their own.
It left the Broncos contemplating an extraordinary reversal.
Mam had three tries before halftime, Walsh converted all five Brisbane tries and the Broncos had been 24–0 clear midway through the first half. Yet from Mam’s third try in the 35th minute until fulltime, Brisbane’s only addition was Walsh’s penalty goal.
The Dolphins won the second half 16–2.
For Brisbane, that statistic tells the story of a derby that slipped away after they had done almost everything required to take control of it.
A 24-point lead in the Battle of Brisbane had become an eight-point defeat.
FULL TIME: Dolphins 40–32 Brisbane Broncos
HALF TIME: Dolphins 24–30 Brisbane Broncos
Competition: 2026 NRL Telstra Premiership, Round 23
Date: Saturday, 8 August 2026
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Brisbane Broncos tries: Ezra Mam 3, Deine Mariner, Xavier Willison
Goals: Reece Walsh 5/5 conversions, 1/1 penalty goal
Dolphins tries: Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow 2, Connelly Lemuelu 2, Jamayne Isaako, Herbie Farnworth, Selwyn Cobbo
Goals: Jamayne Isaako 6/7
Published 8-August-2026
