Broncos v Knights: Five things we learned

After losing their third game in a row, pressure is building on Brisbane to save their season, while Maroons fans have their fingers crossed. Here’s what we learned from the Broncos’ loss.

The mood in broncos camp must be pretty low. Image: AAP Image/Darren Pateman

• Broncos pay the price for Seibold gamble
• Star’s withdrawal sends scare through Maroons camp

1. The Broncos are under immense pressure to turn their season around after falling to their third straight defeat. It’s the first time since 2013 (the year they last missed the finals) that the Broncos have had two separate three-game losing streaks in the one season.

The mood in broncos camp must be pretty low. Image: AAP Image/Darren Pateman

2. Brisbane need to address their woeful starts to games. In 15 games, they have scored just 77 points in the first half (the equal worst in the NRL) and here they scored zero. They also went into this match conceding the most points of any team (84) in their opening 20 minutes.

3. The “million dollar gamble” to swap Darius Boyd and Anthony Milford has ended in a bust. Milford failed to fire to his potential while Boyd needs to find the tackling bags at Red Hill and work on his defence. Knights centre Jesse Ramien ran over top of the Broncos skipper in the 69th minute which led to a Newcastle try to seal the game.

Kalyn Ponga was forced to watch form the sidelines. Image: AAP Image/Darren Pateman

4. Queenslanders have a nervous wait ahead of them as star fullback Kalyn Ponga undergoes scans for a calf injury which ruled him out of this game. In his absence though, the Knights showed they don’t have to fully rely on their superstar as they managed to down the Broncos at home.

5. Playing away from home is always a tough ask, but the Broncos have now lost six of their past seven away games. They need to win seven of their next 10 games to assure themselves a spot in the finals, but four of those games are away from home.