Only Wayne Bennett could have pulled it off.

Well only Wayne Bennett and the irrepressible Wendell Sailor.

St George's 25-12 upset over the previously unbeaten Broncos in Friday night's NRL clash at Suncorp Stadium would have to go down as one of the sweetest victories in Bennett's glittering 25 year coaching career.

A pumped up Sailor, 34, turned the clock back more than a decade, taunting Brisbane fans who once cheered him.

He scored a key try in the 59th minute to extend the Dragon's lead to 18-6 and in typical Sailor style celebrated by booting the ball deep into the crowd before giving a salute to fans.

The Dragons led 8-6 at half time but only after Brisbane was robbed of a late try to giant winger Israel Folau by a refereeing blunder by Shayne Hayne.

Hayne ruled Folau had knocked on attempting to scooping up a low pass from centre Justin Hodges.

However video replays showed Folau not only picked the ball up cleanly but also got it down for what should have been a try.

The Dragons took control of the game after half time.

Busy halfback Jamie Soward scored in the 48th minute off his own bomb when young winger Antonio Winterstein made of mess of fielding the kick near his own try line.

Sailor then slipped down the right touchline before the Dragon's other winger Brett Morris crossed in the 62nd minute after Ben Hornby snatched a intercept off Darren Lockyer 20 metres from his own try line.

Bennett didn't say a word in public all week, but whatever he said to his players behind closed doors in the visitor's dressing room, inspired them to a stunning win.

It was the Dragon's eighth straight win over the Broncos since 2006 - the previous seven all against Bennett coached sides.

Ivan Henjak's dream start, following impressive wins against the Cowboys, Melbourne and the Warriors, hit a brick wall.

Apart from Sailor, another ex-Bronco, Darius Boyd played his way into State of Origin contention with a damaging attacking game.

Boyd, who now looms at an option for Queensland selectors following the season-ending knee injury to Brent Tate, revelled in his return to Brisbane.

In one passage of play Boyd slipped under a high shot from Brisbane halfback Peter Wallace late in the second half, sprinting 70 metres downfield before off-loading to Soward.

Soward looked certain to score until a desperate diving tackle from Brisbane fullback Karmichael Hunt saved the day.

Unfortunately for Brisbane, it was only temporary.

But Bennett was certainly seen showing emotion - and plenty of it - when the live TV coverage kept switching to him in the coach's box.

At one stage Bennett could be seen jumping out of his seat as Brett Morris crashed over for what turned out to be the matchwinning try in the 62nd minute after Ben Hornby snatched an intercept off Darren Lockyer 20 metres from his own line.

Clearly sentiment took a back seat as Bennett lined up for the first time against the side he took to six titles and 17 straight finals campaigns in a remarkable 21 year reign.

The man who stepped into the big shoes left by Bennett - Ivan Henjak - hinted that their last round away trip to New Zealand, rather than the occasion, had drained his side.

"We looked a little bit flat. We didn't have the energy that we had had the last three weeks," he said.

"We didn't match them physically. In the end we probably got what we deserved."

Henjak did not want to harp on referee Shayne Hayne's controversial 31st minute decision to deny Israel Folau for a knock on despite replays showing there was nothing wrong with the grounding.

"Those things are going to happen. That's not the reason we lost the game," he said.

Henjak also did not want to use the fact that "few guys were crook" in his backline as an excuse.

Maligned Dragons half Jamie Soward ignored weeks of negative press to inspire the gutsy win in greasy conditions.

He helped the Dragons take an 8-6 halftime lead before extending the advantage in the 48th minute by scoring off his own bomb.

Sailor slipped down the right touchline before the Dragons other winger Morris crossed.

After Lockyer gave the Broncos a sniff with a 68th minute try, fittingly it was that man Soward who put the hosts away with a field goal in the dying minutes.

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