Brisbane Broncos centre Kotoni Staggs staked his claims for an Origin recall after helping his side retain their place at the top of the NRL ladder with a gritty 20-12 defeat of the Sharks.
Staggs, who debuted for NSW in the opening game of last year's series but lost his place after suffering a shoulder injury, ran 185 metres with the ball and scored a try, produced a try assist, a line break and nine tackle breaks.
The Broncos had Reece Walsh, Pat Carrigan, Payne Haas and Tom Flegler backing up from last Wednesday night's Origin series opener at Adelaide Oval, while Cronulla halfback Nicho Hynes played 12 minutes for the Blues.
Yet the visitors finished stronger and despite having just five second half tackles inside the Cronulla 20-metre zone they never looked like surrendering their 14-6 halftime lead.
In comparison, the Sharks had 41 tackles down their end of the field but only scored two tries.
The win has given the Broncos an outright lead in the NRL premiership with 20 points.
Source: nrl.com
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