Brisbane have fallen to a second consecutive NRL defeat in a nailbiting clash with Canterbury.

The battling Bulldogs became the first team this season to overturn a halftime deficit against the Broncos, holding on for a thrilling 18-16 victory at Suncorp Stadium.

Tries after halftime to Sam Perrett and Josh Morris turned a 10-6 deficit into an 18-10 lead.

The Broncos initially charged to a 10-0 advantage thanks to a Corey Oates double.

A Corey Parker try with 10 minutes to play allowed the veteran lock to eclipse Darren Lockyer as Brisbane’s all-time leading points-scorer and also appeared to be the spark for a comeback.

Anthony Milford dived over in the corner three minutes later to send the 34,082 crowd into raptures but the video referee ruled the try out when Lachlan Maranta was judged to have knocked on in the build-up.

From there the Broncos struggled to get any fluency, making several handling errors in the dying stages as the Bulldogs held on for a crucial win in the context of their own finals hopes.

Broncos captain Justin Hodges was placed on report for a first half high shot on Brett Morris while Oates failed to return for the second half due to a knee injury.

The Bulldogs will also be sweating on the fitness of hooker Michael Lichaa, who jarred his knee midway through the second half and didn’t return.

Meanwhile, Manly’s charge to the NRL finals continued courtesy of a 28-8 defeat of South Sydney, with Peta Hiku scoring three tries.

The Sea Eagles dominated much of the round-22 fixture at Brookvale Oval to turn a 14-2 halftime lead into a five-tries-to-one win.

Hiku scored tries in the 16th, 35th and 61st minutes and Jake Trbojevic crossed for a double as Manly secured their sixth win in their past eight games.

Manly will sit in ninth spot at the end of the round, two points out of the eight. Souths will remain in the top four after the round despite the loss.

In a forgettable night for the Rabbitohs, a 78th-minute try to Alex Johnston was the only time the visitors crossed the stripe before the crowd of 15,083.

– with AAP