Brisbane have withstood their sternest test of the State of Origin period while confirming their status as 2023 NRL heavyweights with a 20-12 defeat of top-four rivals Cronulla Sutherland.
The victory was Brisbane's tenth of the season and second in a row after having lost three of its previous four.
Earlier, the Rabbitohs won big over the Gold Coast, but lost a pair of Origin players to injury that places their participation in Game II in doubt.
The Warriors also defeated the Dolphins 30-8 in Auckland.
An away clash with the offensively potent Sharks loomed as a big test for Brisbane after the Broncos were hot-and-cold heading into Origin season and had five of their best players in the series opener only three days earlier.
Pat Carrigan, Payne Haas, Reece Walsh and Thomas Flegler all took their places in the side, but it was NSW hopeful Kotoni Staggs who stood tallest as the Broncos scored back-to-back wins for the first time since April.
The Broncos have reclaimed top spot on the NRL ladder for the time being, while the Sharks will fall out of the top four if Melbourne beat 16th-placed North Queensland.
Brisbane can now realistically aim to finish the crucial Origin period in first place, given they have byes before the next two games.
Staggs staked a claim for an Origin recall with his blistering first half, first crashing over for a try while the Sharks were scrambling back following Jordan Riki's 80-metre dash.
In the minutes before half-time, he put in a chip kick that sent Jesse Arthars over and extended the Broncos' lead to eight points.
Tom Trbojevic's concussion will sidelined him between now and Game II and Staggs' hat is now in the ring if Brad Fittler is looking for a contingency plan.
On his return from a five-week injury lay-off, veteran Broncos winger Corey Oates was immense, coming up with three line breaks as he ran for 218 metres.
Battered and bruised from their Origin performances, Carrigan, Haas and Flegler set the tone early through the middle.
The Sharks were getting on top as the trio approached the end of their first stints but Brisbane did well to keep them only to one first-half try as Nicho Hynes terrorised the edges.
Underused on Origin debut, Hynes had a point to prove at Shark Park and the Sharks looked most dangerous in the first half when he was pulling the strings.
Hynes drew the defence in from a scrum play before popping a short ball to Siosifa Talakai, who belted through untouched midway through the first half.
That was one of four line-break assists for the reigning Dally M Medallist but the Sharks were guilty of wasting good opportunities with handling errors in the red zone.
Cronulla had better chances in the second half but Brisbane put the game to bed when they shifted the ball to centre Herbie Farnworth as the final 10 minutes approached.
Sharks hooker Blayke Brailey found himself on report for a hip-drop style tackle on Reece Walsh.
Rabbitohs win but lose Origin duo to injury
South Sydney duo Jai Arrow and Cameron Murray were both injured as the Rabbitohs came from behind to beat the Gold Coast 46-28 at Robina.
Queensland forward Arrow is in extreme doubt for State of Origin II in Brisbane on June 21 after injuring his right ankle in the 21st minute and watching the second half on crutches and in a moon boot.
NSW forward Murray limped off with a groin injury in the 52nd minute.
The Titans started on fire as they so often do to lead 12-0 inside 10 minutes and 22-16 at half-time, but the Rabbitohs then piled on 30 unanswered points.
The Rabbitohs had a suite of players — including Campbell Graham, Keaon Koloatamangi, Damien Cook, Tevita Tatola and Cody Walker — in contention to be included in the NSW squad for Origin II.
Most of them showcased brilliance but winger Alex Johnston scored a hat-trick to take his career try tally to 178 and outright fourth best of all-time after going past former NSW and Australian winger Brett Morris.
Walker and centre Isaiah Tass combined to send him over in the first half and Walker threw a pearler to put him in for his third.
The hosts have now lost five of eight matches where they have led at the break and the trend continued in alarming fashion as the Rabbitohs put their foot down in the second half and the Titans fell apart.
The Rabbitohs had too much class.
Titans skipper Tino Fa'asuamaleaui was enormous off the bench after backing up from Queensland's 26-18 State of Origin I win in Adelaide on Wednesday night.
But the big stories out of the night were the injuries to Arrow and Murray.
The Maroons will be without forward Tom Gilbert (dislocated shoulder) in Brisbane and with Arrow set to join him on the sidelines Queensland will have at least two vacancies in the pack.
Rabbitohs winger Richie Kennar was put on report for a late hit on Titans number six Jayden Campbell.
Titans prop Moeaki Fotuaika was put on report for dangerous contact on Koloamatangi's leg early in the second half.
Fa'asuamaleaui was unhappy with the decision. The Rabbitohs scored off the back of it through Johnston and never looked back.
Warriors get past Dolphins
The Warriors have got their season back on track with a 30-8 victory over an undermanned Dolphins outfit in Auckland.
Shaun Johnson continued his fine form by scoring the second of his two tries in the 53rd minute, unlocking some committed defence with a jinking run that harked back to his days as a hot-stepping youngster.
Then, directly from the restart, Luke Metcalf was on hand to take a pass from a Marata Niukore linebreak, racing 40 metres to score under the posts for 18-4.
Up until then, it had been a low-scoring but entertaining match, with both teams throwing the ball around in front of a 23,000-strong crowd at Mt Smart Stadium.
The Dolphins were missing Queensland Origin duo Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Tom Gilbert, and the suspended Felise Kaufusi, while they had to scratch hooker Jeremy Marshall-King late due to injury.
Johnson got the hosts off to a perfect start, stepping his way through under the posts in only the fifth minute. But from there the first half was more notable for its big hits, some more legal than others.
Warriors centre Rocco Berry was forced from the field for a HIA after a heavy shot, while second rower Mitch Barnett made up for lost time after a two-month neck-injury absence by tackling anything that moved.
The Dolphins had precious little attacking opportunities in the first half, but they made one count just before the break when Tesi Niu latched onto a looping pass from Kodi Nikorima to score in the corner.
Johnson and Metcalf's tries shot the home side out to a lead they were never going to relinquish, especially after the Dolphins started to concede far too many penalties.
The Warriors kept the pressure on, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak was first denied correctly by the video match officials due to an obstruction by Bayley Sironen in the lead up.
But then the veteran winger got over in the same corner off a similar move move, this time Johnson and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad combining perfectly to send him over.
Watene-Zelezniak was not done, picking off a pass from Isiaya Katoa to race half the length of the field to put an exclamation point on a much-needed win for the Warriors, before Jamayne Isaac grabbed a consolation try for the Dolphins.
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