Bennett knows Brisbane must improve after thrilling win

Wayne Bennett wants more diamonds and less rocks from his team leading into the finals following a dramatic come from behind victory against Canberra.

The 26-22 victory on Saturday night was the Broncos ninth win of the season, with all of them by nine points or less.

The Raiders led 16-0 at the break and the Broncos appeared gone for all money.

Bennett's words were few at half-time to his side and he explained that by saying "in my business it is more important sometimes what you don't say than what you do say".

Bennett said the first half "wasn't pretty" and it would be hard to argue with him.

The silence was deafening in the dressing room at half-time but Bennett's players obviously got the point as they turned it on in the second half with five-eighth Anthony Milford the master puppeteer.

The Brisbane mentor conceded his side could not afford to continue to put in uneven displays and prosper.

"The season still has a long way to go and if we play like we played in the first half we won't be in the competition towards the end of it, so we've got to get our act together for two halves," Bennett said.

"We've been coming back all year. That's not the first game we've come back in but it was probably one of our poorest performances in the first half.

"[The second half] reminded me of what we are capable of when we play the way we can play."

Captain Darius Boyd said the team was "embarrassed" by the first half and he told his team that they needed actions and not words in the second half.

Milford and Jamayne Isaako were towers of strength in the second half and 18-year-old forward David Fifita played 47 minutes off the bench in an outstanding debut which pleased the coach.

"I liked it because he played mistake free and that is all you can ask," Bennett said.

"He was good and never let anybody down. He did a really good job for us."

Bennett's dry humour came to the fore when it was asked whether the players had to calm Fifita down before his debut.

"Do you think we've got a bed in the back room there somewhere and give them therapy before we run them out?" he quipped.

Bennett exuded a sense of pride that the team got the job done without the injured Tevita Pangai jnr, Matt Gillett, Joe Ofahengaue and Jack Bird.

"We battled away, and we'll keep battling away because we've got quality players at the club," he said.