“We have Payne with an AC with his other shoulder, Herbie’s hurt his bicep pretty severely, that’s a long-termer, possibly season, Corey Paix with his knee, a longer-term one, Te Maire Martin has busted ribs. There’s a whole host in there who are busted,” Walters said.

“Canberra are very physical. We’re wearing the consequences of that now.”

Reynolds said he desperately wanted to play on before he realised he couldn’t operate anywhere near full capacity.

“I didn’t want to leave the field but I was struggling to do my job. I copped a whack in the back and Alfie [trainer Allan Langer] said to get off, it’s not worth risking any further damage. But I think I’ll be fine for next week. Needles are pretty good,” Reynolds said.

Corey Jensen was left as the only useable interchange player on a night where Origin players Selwyn Cobbo, Kurt Capewell and Kotoni Staggs were already out of commission. When Ezra Mam went off with an HIA in the final minute, the Broncos were down to 13.

Yet somehow, their line managed to hold firm. Origin star Pat Carrigan was immense once more. Suddenly, he looks like one of the best middle forwards in the game and the former Broncos captain has taken his output to new levels.

He ran powerfully for 170m in a 68-minute shift to spearhead his pack without Haas. He had a torrid time as a young leader under Anthony Seibold but has now matured to be a huge factor for his club and state.

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But what of the Raiders? They had Brisbane at their mercy and should they have got the try to level scores at 24-all, you could have easily seen them run away with the contest given the fatigue in the legs of the home side.

But they panicked, rushed plays, dropped the ball and generally ran around in circles instead of going straight down the middle.

Ricky Stuart was on his feet in the coaching box and not in a good way. This really was a win that went begging but Brisbane owned the night as the club continues its rise from the depths of the ladder.

Stuart said his team had been guilty of trying too hard with the Broncos on the ropes.

“We didn’t get enough ball at their end of the field. But that’s all gone now. A couple of silly errors with the footy, that’s just trying too hard. But they don’t give up and we will get a bounce, a bit of luck and win a game the other way.”

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