Crisis? Can we now call it a crisis? Nine rounds, two wins and now a fifth consecutive defeat. For the Penrith Panthers, a team many felt could contend for a grand final, these are worrying times.
Wayne Bennett was convinced Penrith would step up to the plate at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday night against the Broncos. Most teams love the occasion, Bennett reasoned, and the Panthers were just too good to keep being this bad.
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They did fire, eventually, but not until Brisbane had helped themselves to a 28-0 lead well into the second half. The late charge was spirited but ultimately futile, although it would cost the Broncos James Roberts, who was carried off late with a knee injury.
It would be 32-18 when the siren sounded, ending another disappointing night for such an aspirational club and heaping more pressure on coach Anthony Griffin.
Should the Gold Coast Titans beat Newcastle at home on Saturday afternoon, the Panthers will head into the official start of the representative season in second last spot on the ladder.
"For us as a club, it's a big learning curve. We fought really hard last year but at the moment, the competition has its foot on our throat. The only way to get out of that is get tough and keep coming," said Panthers coach Anthony Griffin.
"I thought we did that for periods. There's no easy way out but we'll get out of it. They're a great group of young blokes but we're just finding a way to lose at the moment. That's part of learning how to win."
Brisbane, on the other hand, are firmly entrenched in the top eight, recording their fourth win in as many weeks and chancing their arm at every opportunity. But the injury to Roberts, unstoppable in the early exchanges, could be very costly.
The Panthers lost Tim Browne to a nasty head knock in the second half that left them a man down for the final half hour of play. Their fightback was full of character, with Trent Merrin and Matt Moylan at the helm, but it shouldn't mask the raft of issues on a night when their defence was brutally exposed.Â
Perhaps the tone was set in the opening minutes. Penrith thought they had scored when James Tamou dived over under the posts, picking up the crumbs from Peter Wallace, who had the ball seemingly knocked backwards out of his hands by tackler Josh McGuire.Â
It was sent upstairs as a try but overturned when a knock-on was ruled by the bunker. Baffled Panthers players weren't the only ones with quizzical looks on their faces as Brisbane were on the end of what appeared to be another fortunate decision.
Meanwhile, Brisbane would go on to score first after Roberts opened up Penrith with ease, then Kodi Nikorima crossed to make it 6-0.
Roberts was quickly becoming a nightmare for the Panthers. He cut them to ribbons on 18 minutes, capitalising on the error from Isaah Yeo, zooming through a gap and running 85m to extend Brisbane's lead to 10-0.
Penrith weren't even close to getting in the game by that point. They were pinned on their line with little respite and soon gave up another try when Nathan Cleary and Peta Hiku stood by and watched Jordan Kahu run through and gleefully grab Anthony Milford's bomb.Â
He stepped around Moylan with little fanfare and raced away to score under the posts, making it 16-0. A few minutes later, Tautau Moga was over as the Panthers served up more ragged defence.
By half-time Penrith had missed 31 tackles, completed at 53 per cent and had just 43 per cent of the ball. But if they hoped for second half salvation, it would be a long wait.
Instead, Korbin Sims scored under the posts in the 50th minute for his second try in as many weeks. At 28-0, the result was virtually assured.
Then the Panthers started playing, flinging it around in the hope of a revival. Merrin eventually put his side on the board with 15 minutes to go.Â
Moylan, too, would get a confidence booster to keep him in the Origin radar for Laurie Daley. And when Reagan Campbell-Gillard charged over on 73 minutes, it was suddenly 28-18 and the visitors full of running.Â
Bennett clearly rates the talent of the Panthers and said he was happy his side had skipped out to a 28-0 buffer.Â
"Suddenly they got a bit of luck and momentum and it was all happening for them," Bennett said. "I am pleased they started late."
That was until Matt Gillett helped himself to a late try to round out a performance that was flawed but largely dominant. Â