Is this our rugby league winter of discontent? Say it ain’t so.

On and off the field, we’re carrying on like New South Welshmen. For the love of all that is holy, this has to stop. We haven’t even opened our Easter eggs yet, writes Greg Davis.

RUGBY League capital or a state of emergency? Right now, you have to say Queensland is leaning a little more towards the latter.

The three NRL clubs have won a collective two matches from 12 attempts in 2019 (Queensland’s AFL clubs have won a collective five games from six attempts this year).

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The last time a team from the Sunshine State won an NRL game was March 22.

Action from the Queensland Derby in Round 2. It was the last time a Queensland club won a game in the NRL

And that was the Queensland Derby between the Broncos and the Cowboys so a Queensland team had to emerge victorious.

The last two rounds, all three Queensland clubs have lost.

Three of the bottom four spots on the NRL ladder are occupied by the Broncos (13th), Cowboys (15th) and Titans (16th).

To use a racing analogy, the NRL season is more like the 3200m Melbourne Cup than the 1200m Golden Slipper but the form guide for finals berths in September might say something like “each way chance at best” for all three clubs.

There have been serious injuries (Jason Taumalolo, Nathan Peats), silly suspensions (Matt Lodge, Tevita Pangai Jnr), off-field stupidity (James Roberts, Payne Haas) and frustrated Broncos legends Gorden Tallis and Justin Hodges have publicly whacked the club they shed blood, sweat and tears for.

Throw in the ongoing tension between Maroons coach Kevin Walters and Queensland selector Darren Lockyer that forced the QRL to add Billy Slater to the panel to act as a virtual buffer, and rugby league is in a temporary state of disrepair north of the Tweed River.

To be frank, on and off the field, we’re carrying on like New South Welshmen.

For the love of all that is holy, this has to stop.

We haven’t even opened our Easter eggs yet so things need to be fixed ahead of a long winter.

The dejected Broncos after the Roosters ran in another try at the SCG last week.

First to the Broncos.

It’s awfully early to be tagging matches as “must-win” but Thursday night’s clash with the Wests Tigers is just that.

Losing is not an option for Brisbane. They cannot afford to go 1-4 but they have issues to overcome if they want to tame the Tigers.

Their captain and fullback Darius Boyd is in poor form. Defensively, a turnstile is showing more resistance than Boyd right now. The last line of de-fence for Brisbane is the de-one going around de-ground.

Their halves are playing out of position - Kodi Nikorima should be in the no.14 jersey, Anthony Milford is a better fullback than five-eighth - and their young pack is getting dominated.

Not insignificant problems for new coach Anthony Seibold and his men.

At the Cowboys, they cannot score points while they are finding it difficult to stop the opposition from planting the ball over the tryline. You don’t need to be a supercoach like Craig Bellamy to know that is a recipe for disaster.

The loss of Taumalolo has crippled their confidence as well as their ability to make the hard yards in the middle, the playmaking spine is yet to be settled with Michael Morgan needing more help while someone needs to remind Coen Hess that he is an Origin player and should start playing like one.

But you cannot pin the absence of Taumalolo for some of the scores that are getting put on the Cowboys. They have conceded 101 points in the past three weeks.

The Cowboys assume the all-too-familiar position in their in-goal area after a Raiders try last Saturday.

Defence is all about attitude so their attitude clearly stinks at present. And they face the relentless Melbourne Storm in Townsville on Friday so they are staring down the barrel of a 1-4 start after five rounds.

As for the winless Titans, you take the starting five-eighth, halfback and hooker out of any team in the NRL and they would struggle badly.

They are still having a crack but there is no column on the NRL table for honourable losses or valid excuses. Time to dig in and stop the rot with the home game against Penrith this Friday.

If their faint finals hopes hadn’t already sailed, they’ll be well and truly out to sea with a 0-5 record.

They also need to find a starting sport for AJ Brimson. The kid can play, let him rip.

Gun recruit Tyrone Peachey after the Gold Coast’s loss to Souths

And as for the Maroons, a bridge needs to be built so everybody can get over the drama of the NRL coaching merry-go-round in the off-season and come together for the greater good of downing NSW at Origin time.

Because there’s no better way to beat the blues than beating the Blues.

The way things are looking, it might be the only time Queensland rugby league can feel good about itself in 2019.

Originally published as Is this our rugby league winter of discontent? Say it ain’t so.