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Sims returns to the scene of Suncorp destruction

Six months in the NRL may as well be an eternity, given the speed with which the game moves.

Last September, the Dragons travelled to Suncorp Stadium and destroyed the Broncos in front of their home fans. In the six months since, the club have lost Jack de Belin indefinitely due to an ongoing court case, Tyson Frizell for the next few weeks due to a lacerated testicle and suffered two defeats from their first two games of the new season.

The combination of those three factors have left St George Illawara fans with little to smile about, though Tariq Sims can't help but flash a grin for half a second when asked about his three try heroics in the 48-18 win the last time these two sides met.

Better times: Tariq Sims was a one man wrecking ball last time he played at Suncorp.

Better times: Tariq Sims was a one man wrecking ball last time he played at Suncorp.Credit:AAP

"It's a different year, different circumstances but when you play rugby league at Suncorp it's always a special occasion," Sims said. "Obviously the team is very excited to go out there and so am I. It's one of those grounds that has so much history back to when it was called Lang Park."

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Sims hammered the nail home when he pointed out the two teams meet in very different circumstances on Thursday than they did in September.

After a poor showing in round one the Broncos – led by one man wrecking ball Tevita Pangai Junior – played the kind of football which will see them return to the finals once again in a dominant 29-10 win over the Cowboys.

"We're in a really tricky spot," Sims said. "We're zero from two at the moment and we have our backs against the wall going up there. We have to make sure we are on our toes as it can be a pretty lonely place out there in the middle of Suncorp when you're behind on the scoreboard with the calibre of players in their pack up there."

The cream of the Brisbane crop is undeniably Pangai Junior. All the hype in the lead up to the win over the Cowboys was the 300 metre performance from Jason Taumalolo but the 23-year-old NSW Origin hopeful stole the show.

"He's a monster. A monster of a bloke," Sims said. "He's big, aggressive, he's their main motivator in the middle of the pack there. But you just have to look at the team list, they have strike power everywhere.

"The two halves – Nikorima and Milford – they're silky when they are coming onto the ball and then they have Alex Glenn and (David) Fifita on the edges. They demand a lot of attention themselves."

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