Petero Civoniceva became the Brisbane Broncos' 15th captain when he led them to a gritty 24-20 win over Wests Tigers at Suncorp Stadium, and showed his injured front row partner how it's done.

"Shane Webcke will not be captaining," coach Wayne Bennett joked after the game. "He's done his dash, we haven't had a win under Webcke. We had the right man this time."

Civoniceva played a strong hand as the Broncos came from behind twice in the second half to win a keenly fought contest. The Test front rower ploughed over for an important try with 13 minutes remaining to put the Broncos in front 18-14.

Bennett praised the ability of the players to put aside the thoughts of who wasn't there to get the job done. "We had 10 guys that played first grade this year, regular first graders missing. Five won't be back this year and five will be," he said.

An NRL Suncorp Stadium record crowd of 49,571 wasn't enough to inspire the Broncos as Canterbury stamped the seal of authenticity on their premiership credentials with a powerhouse 46-18 victory.

Scores were locked 12-all at half time before the Bulldogs scored three unanswered tries in the first 15 minutes of the second half to leap to a 30-12 lead.

With the crowd lifting behind them, the Broncos rallied to hit back through fullback Karmichael Hunt, who handled twice before scoring in the corner. Darren Lockyer's sideline conversion reduced the margin to just 12 points at 30-18, however Matt Utai's second try in the left corner and Hazem El Masri's sideline goal ended hopes of a Broncos revival and spectators began filing for the exits with 10 minutes remaining.

The highly anticipated top of the ladder clash between the Broncos and Canterbury at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday is likely to be a sell out with only 4000 tickets remaining available as at 4pm Friday.

Broncos managing director, Bruno Cullen, has described the response from fans for what could be the premiership match of the season as "phenomenal".

"We always thought this game would draw a big crowd, but the demand from our fans for tickets has far outweighed our expectations," he said.

"Indications are that all tickets will be sold before Sunday, and that is an outstanding result for our game. It is also an indication - I believe - of the brand of football our guys have been playing in 2004."

Broncos lock David Stagg is still hopeful of making a return to football before the finals despite tests revealing a high ankle sprain suffered in the first half of last week's 21-14 win over the Warriors in Auckland.

Stagg, who was taken to hospital for x-rays after a sickening twist in a tackle by Warriors fullback Brent Webb, was cleared of any bone damage however medical staff expect he will still miss 5-6 weeks of football.

That would indicate a return to the side for the second or third week of the finals series. However, Stagg believes his quick healing could have him back earlier.

The Brisbane Broncos have extended their winning run to six games with a gutsy 21-14 win over a fired up New Zealand Warriors in Auckland, their first win in the northern city since 2000.

Centre Shaun Berrigan scored two second half tries as the Broncos came from 8-6 down at the break to secure one of the most satisfying wins of the season. However, their joy was tempered with the news that young star David Stagg is likely to have played his last game of the season after suffering a suspected broken leg in the first half.

Stagg fell awkwardly in a tackle by Warriors fullback Brent Webb and required a morphine shot before being taken to hospital for x-rays and treatment.

When Brent Tate darted up the middle, grubbered ahead, regathered and scored in the 7th minute of golden point time, it not only gave the Broncos a rare victory over the Sharks at Toyota Park, but it also ensured the game would not go down as one of the most boring in the Telstra Premiership for 2004.

Both sides would be ashamed of their performance on a chilly night in Sydney, making a combined total of more than 40 errors. So poor was the handling that on several occasions, the possession changed twice in the space of a few seconds.

Brisbane led 12-0 after 9 minutes, but as they have done on several occasions this season they eased off the accelerator and invited the Sharks back into the contest. Cronulla drew level 23 minutes into the second half when skipper Danny Nutley crashed over after the Broncos' 7th line drop out of the match.

It was against Manly in round 20 at Suncorp Stadium last season without skipper Gorden Tallis that the Broncos began their 8-game losing streak. There was to be no repeat this year, with Brisbane running out winners 26-12 in front of a healthy Saturday night crowd of 23726.

Brisbane led 14-6 at half time before back to back tries to Michael Ryan and Darren Mapp gave them control of the game 24-6 early in the second half.

However, Manly dug deep and a try to winger Nick Bradley-Qalilawa put them back within two converted tries with 25 minutes remaining.

The match degenerated in the final 20 minutes with both sides guilty of some elementary handling errors. An intercept to Steve Menzies, who was denied a try early in the second half, looked likely to reignite the contest with eight minutes remaining, however he lost the ball as he tried to set himself for an 80 metre dash to the line.

Darren Lockyer has manufactured the Brisbane Broncos' first win in Newcastle since 1998 with a 16-12 result at EnergyAustralia Stadium. Lockyer had a hand in all three of Brisbane's tries during a match played in a gale force southerly.

The Broncos trailed 6-4 at half time after running into the wind in the first stanza, but came out firing early in the second with tries to Karmichael Hunt and Brent Tate.

Hunt finished off a magical 85-metre movement which went through seven sets of hands with Lockyer handling three times.

Lockyer then put Tate over with a neat pass with the Test centre storming through a gap to score behind the uprights for a 16-6 lead.

Another fantastic weekend of Queensland Cup football awaits as the seven top teams fight it out for positions in the top 5.

Only six rounds remain in the regular season, with many top of the table clashes to be fought out between now and the end of August.

Both Wynnum and North Queensland are sitting three competition points outside of the top 5 and will be desperate to taste victory this weekend, but face tough assignments against Norths and Easts respectively.

The ABC televised match between Toowoomba and Redcliffe at Dolphin Oval is by far the match of the round, with the top spot on the ladder well and truly up for grabs.

The Brisbane Broncos have answered suggestions from Roosters coach Ricky Stuart that St George-Illawarra should be competition favourites with a commanding 28-14 win over the Dragons at WIN Stadium.

Just two days after the anticlimactic State of Origin decider, 10 players backed up - five for each side - in wet and slippery conditions in Wollongong. Brisbane led 14-6 at half time and went on with the job in the first 25 minutes of the second half to lead 26-6 before the Dragons scored two late consolation tries.

Queensland and Australian prop, Shane Webcke, put the Broncos in front midway through the first half with his first try since round 26 last season. The world's best front rower put the disappointment of the interstate loss two nights earlier by bouncing off Blues hero Shaun Timmins before charging through three defenders to score.