Brisbane spoilt the party two decades ago and they did it again, holding off a big Warriors’ fightback for a 24-16 NRL victory in Auckland.
But the win came at a cost, with skipper Justin Hodges leaving the field with a hamstring complaint and expected to be sidelined for two to three weeks.
The Broncos also had Adam Blair go off with a thigh injury but the prop is expected to be available to face Gold Coast next week.
Brisbane were the Warriors’ first opponents when the latter entered the competition in 1995 and they were 25-22 winners that night.
In the 20th anniversary re-match on Sunday, it looked like they would run away with the contest when up 16-0 at half-time at Mt Smart Stadium.
Instead, they had to withstand plenty of pressure before Andrew McCullough scored with 30 seconds to go to seal the win for a 3-1 season record.
Coach Wayne Bennett gave his players plenty of credit for their defensive resolve.
“They got two tries off bombs and we denied them on quite a number of occasions, which turned out to be the difference,” he said.
“You want your team to be brave and gutsy and they were all those things today.
“We lost a couple of key players in Blair and Hodges in a crucial part of the game, and they kept putting their hand up and grinding away and not giving the game away.”
Warriors coach Andrew McFadden rued his youthful side’s inability to take all their chances but said their fightback was pleasing after all the tackling they did in the opening spell.
“We had our opportunities to win the game but we didn’t take them – we lacked that composure at the end,” McFadden said.
“Our young kids are doing a great job but we got beat by a very good side, a very experienced side.”
The defeat was compounded by injury to utility Ben Henry, who went off with a knee problem.
Henry, who has had knee injuries in the past, will have a scan to determined the seriousness of his latest mishap.
The Broncos’ win was their first at Mt Smart Stadium since 2009, ending a run of four losses at the ground.
They built plenty of momentum in the opening 40 minutes, helped by their repeated off-loading, with Corey Parker prolific in setting up second phase.
With Ben Hunt accurate with his kicking game, the visitors camped inside Warriors territory and profited with tries to Corey Oates, Lachlan Maranta, and Jarrod Wallace.
But the Warriors mounted a comeback in the second spell after finally getting a fair share of possession.
Chad Townsend, Matt Allwood and Solomone Kata all dotted down to tie the score at 16-16 with 10 minutes to go.
However, Parker nudged the Broncos ahead with a penalty before McCullough provided the killer blow.
