St George Illawarra lose to Brisbane in NYC preliminary final

St George Illawarra's history of near misses in National Youth Cup preliminary finals continued on Friday as they lost 24-16 to Brisbane at ANZ Stadium.

The Dragons surrendered an early 12-0 lead to be overwhelmed by the Broncos, who looked off the pace in the opening 20 minutes only to rise emphatically to book a grand final berth.

The Dragons were on the board after just six minutes when a Jack Bird cut-out ball caught the Broncos short on a blindside to put Sitiveni Moceidreke in space. Five-eighth Shannon Crook backed up on the inside for the first try and slotted the conversion.

Bird was in the action again when he shrugged off two defenders from close range to post the second try. Crook's sideline conversion gave the Dragons a 12-0 lead after 22 minutes.

The young Broncos hit back nine minutes later through some magic from star fullback Kodi Nikorima, who produced a spectacular catch and pass for Tom Opacic to cross in the right-hand corner. Jayden Nikorima's sideline conversion cut the lead to 12-6 after 29 minutes.

The Broncos drew level through prop Joe Ofahengaue five minutes later when he barged across despite the attention of several defenders.

The Broncos took an unlikely lead just minutes from half-time when Jayden Nikorima slotted a penalty goal from in front of the posts.

The Dragons received some good fortune when Opacic crossed again 12 minutes into the second half only to be denied by the video referee for a double movement.

The Dragons retook the lead through some magic from under-20s Origin rep Euan Aitken, who drew two defenders before producing a deft offload for Moceidreke to score on the right edge to go ahead at 16-14.

The lead was short-lived when Brett Greinke won the race to a Duncan Paia'Aua grubber in the Dragons in-goal. Nikorima's conversion gave the Broncos a 20-16 lead with 16 minutes to play.

The Dragons couldn't find the go-ahead try, with Paia'Aua's 76th-minute try sealing the win for the Broncos.