SOUTHS ace Greg Inglis submitted an ominous claim for the Queensland No.1 jumper but his heroics couldn't prevent the Broncos prevailing 26-12 in a scrappy contest at Suncorp Stadium. Maroons coach Mal Meninga paid a visit to the Souths sheds at fulltime and he doubtless made a beeline for Inglis, who was a constant threat to the Broncos with his power and finesse from the backfield. In an error-riddled affair that kept the scores close, the Broncos struggled to find their groove for most of the night before three tries in the final quarter gave warhorse Petero Civoniceva victory in his 300th NRL appearance. Trailing 6-4 at half-time and 12-10 early in the second half, the Broncos looked on shaky ground, but tries to Dale Copley (60th minute) and Corey Norman (65th) edged the hosts clear. And when Souths-bound Ben Te'o crashed over 90 seconds from time, the Broncos ensured they would finish the weekend in the top three. Souths coach Michael Maguire was left to lament some costly unforced errors, but said Inglis would be hard to overlook for the Maroons fullback spot if the injured Billy Slater cannot be included when the Queensland side for Origin III is named on Tuesday. Souths hulk Dave Taylor finished strongly after dropping the ball twice in the opening five minutes, while Inglis suggested he would be the man to replace Slater with an impressive performance. With Maroons selectors Allan Smith and Des Morris watching on, Inglis was a handful all night and produced one of the hits of the night when he crunched a trybound Josh Hoffman just before halftime. "If Greg defends like that he will be hard to ignore. He's in great form," Maguire said. The loss is set to prove costly for Souths, who entered the clash in fourth but could drop to as low as eighth after crashing to just their second defeat in seven games. The Rabbitohs looked on course for an upset when Nathan Merritt intercepted a Norman pass and raced 90m to give Souths a 12-10 lead in the 50th minute, but the Broncos held their nerve to finish stronger. The Broncos struck first blood in the 21st minute. Broncos halfback Peter Wallace grubber kicked through and watched as Souths winger Justin Hunt failed to defuse it, enabling Justin Hodges to pounce. But the Broncos were rocked two minutes before halftime when Chris McQueen stepped past Hoffman in a 20m burst to give the Rabbitohs a 6-4 lead at the break. BRISBANE 26 (D Copley A Glenn J Hodges C Norman B Te'o tries C Parker 3 goals) bt SOUTH SYDNEY 12 (C McQueen N Merritt tries A Reynolds 2 goals) at Suncorp Stadium. Referee: Tony Archer, Chris James. Crowd: 33,602.