Broncos lock Josh McGuire has marked Brisbane's loss to the Parramatta Eels as the wake-up call his side needed as they try and break the longest premiership drought in the club's history.
The Broncos were outplayed and out-enthused against the Eels in Round 21, going down by 14 points in a shock loss that had many questioning their credentials as title contenders.
Brisbane have since gone on to record back-to-back victories against the Gold Coast Titans and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, scoring 86 points in the process.
The victory over the Sharks on Friday night was particular impressive, with Wayne Bennett's men shutting down the defending premiers to leap into second position on the NRL ladder.
McGuire, who was one of the Broncos' best in that victory, told NRL.com that the loss to the Eels three weeks ago was the turning point in Brisbane's season.
"It was a disappointing effort from us as a team. We probably went into it a little bit too relaxed," McGuire said.
"It was the kick up the bum we needed at the right time of the year. As a forward pack especially, we knew it wasn't up to our standards. We've played a lot better footy than that.
"We probably had an easy game against the Bulldogs the week before and then kind of thought it was just going to happen. It was a good reminder to us that we need to work hard and keep on building as a team."
And Brisbane are building nicely, conceding just ten points over the past two rounds, frustrating their opposition into stupid mistakes in the process.
It makes their defence the third best in the competition and it is peaking at the right time with three games remaining in the regular season.
Many thought the loss of defensive rock Andrew McCullough to a season-ending knee injury would be the end of the Broncos' high standards in defence, but Brisbane's forward pack are proving the doubters wrong.
McGuire has been a big part of this resurgence, with the Brisbane enforcer taking it upon himself to lead the Broncos' defence.
"We know that if we can hold our own and have good line speed then we can hold teams inside their own end," McGuire said.
"We have a lot of players that can score points so we need to do this to give them that opportunity.
"We give away a lot in the size department so we have to make up for that in the enthusiasm side of things. It's about being quick in defence."
Brisbane will take on the St George-Illawarra Dragons on Friday night, with a victory all but sealing a top-four finish.
