Broncos 25 Titans 21

Darren Lockyer missed this year's State of Origin series, so in the annals of heroic Queensland efforts, he had some catching up to do.

After limping from his sick bed to orchestrate Brisbane's 25-21 victory in last night's frantic local derby against the Gold Coast Titans at Suncorp Stadium, he can consider the ledger officially squared.

The Broncos captain had to jump more hurdles than Sally McLellan in the prelude to his wonderful piece of golden-point wizardry that resulted in Greg Eastwood storming over next to the posts, giving Brisbane a win that keeps their home finals chances afloat.

The distraught Titans, meanwhile, limped back down the M1 burdened by the knowledge their injury-riddled season had run its course.

A crowd of just under 40,000 cheered as Lockyer set for a field goal with two minutes left in the first period of extra time, only to jink, pass, regather and send Eastwood galloping over.

If only they had known, he was so sick he had barely slept the night before and needed an injection at half-time to stop him from depositing his stomach contents in the in-goal.

Even his teammates knew nothing of Lockyer's illness; Wayne Bennett chose not to weigh them down with the news.

Brisbane hooker Michael Ennis, who scored a try in another stand-out effort, thought he must have been in Lockyer's bad books as the Broncos skipper, drained of colour, walked into the change rooms.

"I sit across from him and I knew something was up. He usually comes in and says hello. I didn't know if he was pumped right up for the game or it was something I did at training," Ennis said.

"He didn't say anything. He just got ready and away he went. It's hard to find those sort of blokes."

Ennis heard the news as he joined Bennett for the post-game press conference, which Lockyer was too sick to attend. "I didn't tell them. I didn't want to share my misery. Of all the players, why did they ring and tell me about him? Why didn't they ring and tell me about someone else?" Bennett said. "I carried enough grief in thinking that he mightn't play without having to inform the players. I was on the couch and needed treatment."

Lockyer's ice-cold ability to think on his feet in the clutch only added to his already soaring reputation as the perfect player with the game on the line.

Ennis said he couldn't think of a player he would rather pass to with the result hanging on a knife edge. "I definitely wasn't going to anyone else. He's just one of those blokes who puts himself in the right spot at the right time every time. That's why he's the champion he is," Ennis said. "When you see those doors open and you get that knock to go out on the field and he's in front of you, you know you're in with a shot at the game. He's just an incredible bloke to play with."

The match was a heart-stopping affair. Or heart-breaking, depending on your allegiance.

Brisbane were pummelled for the first 40 minutes, trailing 14-6 at the break, before turning things around in the second half. With the scores level at 20-all and 10 minutes to play, first Lockyer (77th minute) and then Scott Prince (78th) kicked field goals to send it into extra time at 21 apiece.

Titans coach John Cartwright said his troops were "shattered" and felt the better side walked off the park as the losers.

He also took a shot at referee Ben Cummins, saying his side wasn't awarded a penalty after the 35th minute. When asked if the vocal home crowd had influenced the referee in the second half, he replied: "Someone did."

Brisbane's win was hardly a shot across the bow of the competition heavyweights, although their stoic defence on their line in the first half will be a source of strength.

"That won us the game. Every conceivable thing that could have gone to a footy team went with them in the first half. They had 23 sets to our 13, they had all the field position from about the first seven or eight minutes," Bennett said.

"I was elated with the boys at half-time and I told them so. They knew they had done a great job to keep it to 14 points. I knew we could win it from there."

BRISBANE 25 (D Boyd J Clinton G Eastwood M Ennis D Kemp tries C Parker 2 goals D Lockyer field goal) bt GOLD COAST 21 (P Campbell J Graham M Rogers tries S Prince 4 goals S Prince field goal) at Suncorp Stadium. Referee: B Cummins. Crowd: 39,757.