ROBBIE FARAH was accused of a headbutt by Brisbane counterpart Michael Ennis as the Tigers crashed to a frustrating 19-18 loss in a gripping but error-ridden contest at Suncorp Stadium last night.

A 73rd-minute field goal by Broncos fullback Karmichael Hunt proved the difference between the sides and killed off a fairytale debut for unheralded Tigers forward Daine Laurie, who was first spotted by the club at an Aboriginal tournament in 2006 but did not play at all last season.

It also put paid to a potential controversy after the Tigers had scored on the stroke of half-time when referee Sean Hampstead ignored Ennis's complaint that he had been headbutted by Farah in a scrum near the Broncos' line. After the pair began pushing and shoving, Hampstead called them out and Ennis told him: "He threw a headbutt straight at me."

But the referee said he had not seen the incident and repacked the scrum.

Broncos coach Wayne Bennett said he didn't think anything should come of the incident but acknowledged the fierce rivalry between the pair: "They must have both read the papers."

Bennett said his undermanned side were never going to win pretty and suggested "the inmates were running the asylum" in the seven minutes after the first field goal of Hunt's career as the Broncos repeatedly offered up chances to their opponents.

But undoubtedly the story of the night was Laurie's, who was called up to give the Tigers some grunt.

Standing at 198 centimetres and weighing 112 kilograms, Laurie did not play league last year but joined the Tigers after being invited through his manager Christopher Haddad to move from Yamba to Sydney to play for Wests Magpies under coach Leo Epifania. His performances in the NSW Cup convinced officials to this week sign him to two-year deal.

"He's as raw as hell but he's willing and there were a few guys getting out of his way by the end of the game," Tigers coach Tim Sheens said. "There's a lot of work that needs to be done before he's a first-grader but I think he will be good for us."

Stand-in Brisbane captain Sam Thaiday was also impressed and described Laurie as a player of the future, while Bennett compared him with a young Wendell Sailor. "I thought it was Wendell Sailor in 1993 when we played him in the second row, except Wendell didn't have the white boots back then," Bennett quipped.

Coming on in the 28th minute, the 23-year-old prop made an immediate impression with some big hits and strong runs and was heavily involved.

After unsuccessfully trying to fight his way over the try line just seconds before half-time, Laurie almost conceded a penalty when he shoved Corey Parker before executing a quick play-the-ball that enabled halfback Mathew Head to move the ball wide for utility Dene Halatau to cross in the corner just as the siren sounded.

The try, Halatau's 14th in 100 NRL appearances, gave the Tigers a 12-8 lead at the interval after Brett Hodgson had crossed in the fifth minute.

A sign of how tough the Broncos were doing it early in the game was the decision to take a kick at goal when they received a ninth-minute penalty in front of the posts, and it was then that Hampstead spoke to Ennis after an earlier run-in with Gibbs.

"I'm just playing the game," Ennis replied, prompting Hampstead to say: "You're not playing the game, you're trying to bait blokes."

As Ennis lined up a conversion attempt for Joel Moon's 17th-minute try, Hampstead told the Bulldogs-bound hooker: "You don't need that in your game, Michael. You don't need to bait blokes all the time."

The Tigers spent most of the second half trailing the Broncos after winger Denan Kemp scored in the 45th minute. When Nick Kenny scored seven minutes later, momentum seemed to have shifted to the home side but Liam Fulton levelled the scores with his 65th-minute try.

BRISBANE 19 (D Kemp N Kenny J Moon tries M Ennis 3 goals K Hunt field goal) bt WESTS TIGERS 18 (L Fulton D Halatau B Hodgson tries B Hodgson 3 goals) at Suncorp Stadium. Referee: S Hampstead. Crowd: 27,864.