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Broncos centre Justin Hodges gives his teammates a spray after a Storm try. Source: Colleen Petch / News Limited
JACK Reed suffered a suspected fractured shoulder on Friday night as a 32-0 drubbing in Melbourne turned up the heat on coach Anthony Griffin and left Brisbane fighting to save their season.
| 6 Tries 0 | |
|---|---|
| Jesse Bromwich 3' | |
| Justin O'Neill 13' | |
| Ryan Hinchcliffe 54' | |
| Sisa Waqa 64' | |
| Maurice Blair 71' | |
| Maurice Blair 78' | |
| 4 Conversions0 | |
| Cameron Smith 4' | |
| Cameron Smith 14' | |
| Cameron Smith 55' | |
| Cameron Smith 72' | |
The Broncos received a chilling reality check of their title bona fides at AAMI Park after being shut out by a Storm side that produced the defensive hunger that wins premierships.
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The defending premiers scored six unanswered tries, but of greater merit was their iron-clad defence, which was so desperate Broncos winger Lachlan Maranta was denied three times.
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Inspired by key triumvirate Cooper Cronk, Cameron Smith and Billy Slater, the Storm bolted to a 12-0 lead after as many minutes before delivering the coup de grace with four second-half tries.
The hatchet job left Brisbane lamenting another duck the first time in their glittering 25-year history they have been held scoreless twice in a single campaign.
But Brisbane's impotent attack aside, alarm bells are ringing on other fronts. Last night's thumping means the Broncos must win six of their last eight games to avoid the ignominy of missing the finals for the second time in four seasons.
Queensland's flagship NRL club could finish the weekend floundering in 14th with a 6-10 win-loss record and to compound their plight, Reed faces another extended stint on the sidelines.
The British Test centre hurt his reconstructed shoulder diving for a ball just before crashing into an advertising sign in the 17th minute.
He left the Broncos sheds with his left arm in a sling and will have scans over the weekend.
"He has landed really badly on the shoulder he had reconstructed. He is in a bit of trouble at the moment," Griffin said.
"He's not good ... he is a pretty tough customer so when he comes off you know he's hurt."
Griffin's predecessor Ivan Henjak was sacked after Brisbane failed to make the playoffs in 2010.
And despite having another two years to run on his contract, Griffin will face a similar fate unless Brisbane can somehow resurrect their season.
The next month will make or break their season, starting with a home clash against the Sharks this Friday night, followed by the bye and daunting road trips to face North Queensland and Newcastle.
The Broncos had a host of promising opportunities last night but Griffin was left to lament Melbourne's superb last-ditch defence.
"It's frustrating," the coach said.
"We just didn't create enough pressure to crack them open, we were too impatient. They saved half-a-dozen tries, but we needed to be a lot more dogmatic about what we wanted to do with the ball.
"It's terribly disappointing that last 15 minutes to concede 16 points. The scoreline in the end ... they were far too good for us."
Skipper Sam Thaiday insisted the Broncos could still make the finals despite their precarious position.
"You never give up hope but it (the finals) is a long way off for us," he said.
"Self-belief is the biggest thing. We were very unlucky to only lose by two points against the Warriors last week.
"We were taking a step in the right direction but we left all that behind in New Zealand.
"We just need to start believing in one another and our ability to win games. We need to start getting some belief back."
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