Darren Lockyer returned to his scheming best as Brisbane continued their renaissance with a sparkling 58-24 win over Penrith at Suncorp Stadium tonight.
Down 24-18 at halftime, Brisbane kept the Panthers scoreless in the second half while scoring 40 points themselves.
Departing forward Dave Taylor, who was again devastating out wide, set up Brisbane's 10th try on fulltime with a perfect inside ball to forward Ben Te'o for his second try of the match.
While defensively they still have work to do, the Broncos' attack clicked into gear with Lockyer the maestro.
Brisbane buried the Panthers with a 10-try performance that would have bookmakers running for cover.
Sitting eleventh before the game, the 34-point win puts Brisbane back into the top eight, where they will stay if Melbourne beat Newcastle on Monday night.
The stakes were high for Brisbane with a loss almost certainly to end their finals hopes and Lockyer delivered, having a direct role in six of Brisbane's tries.
All of Brisbane's big guns, Lockyer, Peter Wallace, Sam Thaiday, Karmichael Hunt and Justin Hodges, stood up to be counted.
Penrith were plucky in the first half but had no answer to Brisbane's second-half try blitzkrieg.
- AAP
NRL: Broncos reignite season
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