Brisbane co-captain Justin Hodges hopes he will only miss one game with a hamstring injury that forced him off in the first half of his side's 16-4 loss to Manly at Brookvale Oval on Friday night.
Hodges also said the narrow loss against the competition leaders shows the side aren't too far away, and would give the finals a good shake if they are able to earn a spot in the top eight over the closing five rounds of the competition.
"I think it's just a lower grade one," Hodges said of the hamstring injury after the game.
"It's been pretty good all year, it's a bit of pain to pick one up now but hopefully I only miss a week. It's not too bad. I've had that many I know what a good one and a bad one feels like!" he laughed.
He said with the side precariously placed on the ladder and a chance of dropping out of the top eight over the weekend the loss was disappointing, particularly given they competed closely for most of the game.
"We've got the side to do anything, it was [just] the missed opportunities. The hardest thing is to get through the 26 rounds, when you get to finals football it doesn't matter what you've done over 26 rounds it goes out the window.
"For us it's just a matter of getting in there. If you get to the finals it's a different ball game. It doesn't matter who you come up against. Manly's the best side so far and we weren't too far off the mark."
He said the Sea Eagles are definitely the team to beat at this stage, and aren't four points clear at the top for no reason.
"They're playing some great footy, they're a tough side to beat, especially at home with quality players all over the park. They compete for 80 minutes, that's what makes them so good. I've got so much confidence in my players that if we get into the eight we'll give it a good shake."
Coach Anthony Griffin said the result was disappointing because with the effort the side put in had them in contention for most of the game
"We've got to win three games of football [to make the finals] and we've got plenty of chances to do that," he said.
"I thought our application and intentions were terrific. At four-all, if we got that restart or come off that line break on top but from there we just didn't take our chances. We made some bad decisions and just released all the pressure."
He said the side did a good job all night up until the late missed opportunities of playing simple footy and building pressure. "But when we really needed to [capitalise] against a good side like Manly, you only get so many chances and you've got to work hard to get them. We were just trying to get there too quick at the end there."
