For Broncos fans, the good news is your side has heaped more misery on the winless South Sydney and Darren Lockyer – he of the suspect knee - has emerged unscathed.
The bad news is the Anzac Day clash at Suncorp Stadium wasn’t without its casualties.
The Broncos made it seven-straight losses for the Rabbitohs with a 32-18 win. Souths trailed 26-6 at the 54-minute mark before a Nathan Merritt double closed the gap, only to have it stretched again by Joel Moon’s try with 20 seconds left in the game.
But the pyrrhic nature of the triumph was evident on Brisbane’s injury list, with centre Steve Michaels done for 2008 and Test three-quarter Justin Hodges leaving the contest early clutching his shoulder.
Michaels suffered season-ending cruciate ligament damage after his knee was bent at an horrific angle in a tackle by Nigel Vagana in just the fourth minute.
Michaels had been an iron-man for Brisbane, playing every minute of every game for Brisbane since round one of last year. But his streak came to end in appalling fashion and he was stretchered off in agony in front of 34,112 stunned fans.
Hodges injured his shoulder before halftime and retook the field for the second stanza, only to head to the bench with 15 minutes to play.
The game itself was a mismatch until the final 20 minutes. This was the school bully belting up the nerd for his lunch money until the nerd finally threw a punch of his own.
The Bunnies showed some early promise, spinning the ball wide to catch their big forwards charging on the fringes.
All the good work frayed at the seems when fullback Fetuli Talanoa spilled the ball 10 metres out from his line. Instead, the dire luck was bound for Michaels.
Running the ball off the scrum, the 22-year-old was stung in a ball-and-all tackle in a tackle by Vagana, who spun him around as he flung him to the turf.
Michaels’ right knee was pinned under the pirouette and bent at a sickening angle.
The pain wasn’t just restricted to Michaels’ awful injury. After the restart, Brisbane sent it wide to Denan Kemp to score a frighteningly easy try in the corner and set up a 4-0 lead.
Souths have a knack of snatching calamity from the jaws of opportunity. Even when a chance emerged, they found a way to rain on their own parade.
The passage of play that preceded Michael Ennis’s 15th minute penalty was a case in point. A strong tackle from Roy Asotasi forced Ashton Sims to spill the ball on halfway, setting up an attacking scrum.
Inexplicably, Brisbane won the ball against the feed, which Souths followed up with back-to-back penalties to set up an easy penalty attempt and a 6-0 Broncos lead.
Brisbane looked to have crossed for their second in the 20th minute when Ben Hannant dived over after sprinting onto a lovely ball from Peter Wallace. But a jersey-tug from David Stagg on Merritt in back-play would be their undoing.
As Lockyer began to inject himself into the play, Brisbane’s attacking prowess blossomed. It was a lovely wide ball from the skipper – followed up by an equally as impressive pass from Wallace – that gave Moon his first in the 22nd minute.
With a 10-nil lead under their belt, Brisbane looked like they were ready to start a procession. The Rabbits needed a hero and David Fa’alogo donned the cape.
With Ben Rogers turning it inside, the burly back-rower barrelled through some poor defence from Kiwi team-mate Greg Eastwood to cross in the 29th minute. Isaac Luke converted and it was 10-6 in the home side’s favour.
The momentum shift was fleeting and when Hodges scored Brisbane’s third. And the Bunnies only had themselves to blame.
With a Wallace bomb looking as harmless as a puppy at a picnic, Rogers affected a Mark Schwarzer-style punch-out over the dead ball line instead of simply catching the ball or letting it go.
The result was a 14-6 halftime lead for Brisbane. The wonky boot of Michael Ennis (1-4) helped ease some pain for the visitors.
Ennis only had to wait 10 minutes after the break to improve his tally, this one after Kemp’s second try, which was born from a Thaiday pass and a Darius Boyd bust.
With Talanoa not knowing who to commit to in defence, he ended up commiting to thin air as Kemp scurried away.
The score blew out to 26-6 in the 55th minute when Ennis brushed through John Sutton to bag one for himself.
Souths found some creativity at last when Eddie Paea deftly grubbered for Merritt to reduce the deficit to 14 with 16 minutes on the clock.
There was life in the Bunnies yet. Merritt made it a double when he dashed under the posts with seven minutes remaining, leaving his side eight points adrift.
Moon’s last-gasp double ended a mixed night for the Broncos, who are back on top of the NRL ladder.
