That thud from north of the Tweed was the sound of the Roosters crashing back to Planet Earth. After a brilliant start to the NRL season, the tricolours were left to ponder a night of brittle defence that saw them on the end of a hiding from a resurgent Brisbane Broncos - and Roosters coach Trent Robinson was not pulling any punches after the loss.
"There were signs that I definitely didn't like - that was poor," Robinson said after the five-tries-to-two loss.
"I haven't seen that in a long time, even at training.
"Some signs were disappointing and we will have to change it pretty quickly."
Asked about their missed tackle count, Robinson said: "I put it down to the Broncos playing really well and us being unacceptable the way we went about our tackling."
Before the match, the Roosters had the league's fourth best defensive unit after conceding less than 16 points a game in the first five rounds.
"It was frustrating when we pride ourselves on that sort of stuff," Roosters co- captain Boyd Cordner said of their defensive display in Brisbane.
"The game was in the balance early in the second half but we beat ourselves with the missed tackles.
"We know that is nowhere near our best and we will have to turn it around quick smart."
"I thought we handled them poorly early, they got the jump on us," Robinson said of his side's fourth consecutive loss in the Queensland capital.
"It was an open game and in the second half we couldn't handle it.
"We couldn't offer the same attack that we offered in the first half to get back into the game," he added.
Even with Corey Oates (groin) out and halfback Ben Hunt (hamstring) missing the second half, the Broncos had far too much firepower for the Roosters, pouring on the points for a 32-8 victory in front of just over 33,000 fans at Suncorp Stadium.
And it could have been more if Hunt had not been denied what looked like a certain try just after the resumption of play when what appeared to be a legitimate pass was ruled forward.
The Roosters trailed at the break and they have now lost 16 consecutive games when behind at halftime. In any case, it was the Broncos playing like a team chasing points, breaking open the visitors with a free-flowing plan that paid dividends almost from the outset.
Anthony Milford was brilliant for the Broncos and had a hand in almost everything, while Andrew McCullough produced a brilliant ankle tap on Michael Gordon that would prove a pivotal moment in the game.
Brisbane had a 14-8 lead after the end of a frantic first half that saw both teams combine for more than 1600m running metres and miss 48 tackles, with 30 of those chalked up by the Roosters.
It was ad-lib football. Brisbane were by far the more energetic and took an 8-0 lead after 15 minutes. It could have been worse.
Mitchell Aubusson can be the unsung hero for the Roosters at times but his line-running to help his side hit back was sublime. He left the hapless Tautau Moga clutching at air in the 18th minute to sail over, before Moga missed a shocker three minutes later on Blake Ferguson to see the visitors level the scores.
Milford was enjoying the open spaces and produced some classy touches, one of which put Brisbane back in command when he laid it on a platter for Sam Thaiday, who started off the bench but scored with his second touch.
The lead was 14-8 when the second half began but Milford may have wished he stayed in the sheds for a few moments longer. He was ironed out by Zane Tetevano but somehow, the loose ball almost ended up with Brisbane scoring, only to be dropped by Moga, who was offsetting his costly mistakes by racking up a mountain of run metres.
Milford was tearing the Roosters apart. He sliced through again and seemed to have put halves partner Hunt under the posts, only for it to be recalled for a puzzling forward pass ruling. But Hunt would injure his hamstring and hobble off soon after, gone for the night, although the injury was thought to be minor.
His departure would fail to stop the Broncos momentum. The Roosters coughed up a soft try in the 50th minute to Korbin Sims and were suddenly staring down a 20-8 deficit.
Gordon looked as if he would be the one to get the Roosters back in the game but Brisbane hooker McCullough came from the clouds with an ankle tap to save a certain try.
Kahu's next penalty made it 22-8, then James Roberts and Moga crossed to bury the Roosters, who started in a slumber and left contemplating their second defeat of the season.
with AAP
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