The Warriors have dropped to seventh on the NRL rugby league ladder after failing to hold off a fast finishing Broncos side, the Auckland club going down 28-20 at Suncorp Stadium.
Warriors Second row Ben Henry (L) is tackled by Brisbane Full back Ben Barba (R) during the round 19 NRL match between the Auckland Warriors and the Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium, 2014. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Warriors Full back Sam Tomkins evades the diving tackle of Brisbane interchange David Hala during the round 19 NRL match between the Auckland Warriors and the Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium, 2014. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Two second-half tries to Warriors back-rower Ben Henry gave the Warriors a 22-18 lead with 30 minutes remaining but the Broncos fought back with winger Dale Copley bagging a brace of tries in two minutes to give his side the match-winning lead with 13 minutes remaining.
The Warriors attacked desperately through the dying stages but were unable to engineer a breakthrough against an under-siege Brisbane side, who put aside a disrupted build-up that saw three players demoted midweek for breaking team protocols, to post their first win in four starts.
The result ends the Warriors' own three-game winning run.
The Broncos leapfrog them to sixth on the competition ladder.
Both sides remain locked on 22 points with the eighth-placed Storm, ahead of a chasing pack of four teams - the Cowboys, Dragons, Tigers, and Eels.
Coach Andrew McFadden now faces a difficult test in getting his side back up for next Sunday's blockbuster against competition leaders Manly, where a loss could seriously jeopardise their place in the top eight.