Broncos coach Anthony Griffin has been left scratching his head after watching his team put in an almost flawless defensive effort yet still left Cbus Super Stadium without the two competition points on Friday night.
Having held the Titans at bay for the opening 30 minutes despite a glut of possession against them, the Broncos then led 8-0 with 20 minutes to play and were giving little indication that their defensive line was going to be breached.
But a brilliant 99-metre solo effort from fullback David Mead and a one-on-one steal by five-eighth Aidan Sezer in the in-goal area saw the Titans sneak home 12-8 and widen the gap at the top of the competition table between themselves and the chasing pack.
Broncos forwards Sam Thaiday and Todd Lowrie were both ruled to have been held up over the line in the second half while Josh Hoffman spilt the ball over the line with 15 minutes to play; if Brisbane score just one of those tries the final result is very different.
"We did everything but win the game," said Griffin, who described it as a "bizarre game".
"We handed them one... I suppose both of them from kicks, in the most unusual ways but our general effort and the way we went about our game was terrific.
"We dropped the ball over the line twice and got held up once and that was the ball-game in a nutshell really. We'd built the pressure and three tries they turned us away and that's why they're the No.1 team in the comp, they're a very tough defensive team.
"The football team's in great shape and we're playing with a great attitude we're just on the wrong side of the bounce of the ball at the moment."
Brisbane co-captain Corey Parker paid tribute to the gritty nature of not just Friday night's win but the Titans' season to date but said that his side was guilty of their own poor execution.
"I think you can see that from the win they got tonight. If you look at their past couple of games, that's how they've won their games, very gritty, and hence the reason they are where they are," Parker said of the Titans' position on the top of the ladder.
"We were in control for parts of that game but just failed to close out at crucial times there. We were building nicely there but there were a couple of times where we didn't execute the way we should have and that try they got off the kick certainly didn't help, they got some momentum off that.
"I thought tonight the way we defended was certainly a step in the right direction from the week before. We've still got work to do, as most sides do, and the next challenge for us will be next Friday night."
