The reigning NRL premiers’ finals hopes have gone up in smoke as the Brisbane Broncos suffered a seventh consecutive loss on Friday night.

The Sydney Roosters claimed a 24-18 victory at Suncorp Stadium in a hard-fought clash that all but ended Brisbane’s chances of making the top eight.

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Without Adam Reynolds, Ezra Mam and Pat Carrigan, the Broncos were gutsy but the Roosters had more class — Sam Walker scored the matchwinning try in the second half to continue his rich vein of form.

But the seven-game losing streak means the Broncos sit 13th on the ladder with five wins from 14 games and last year’s premiership run feels a distant memory.

“The Broncos, they’re in big trouble,” Braith Anasta said post-game on Kayo Sports.

“They’ve got to win eight out of their last nine games. They did try hard but they lack X-factor and they couldn’t go to another gear.”

Cooper Cronk said: “I don’t think they play finals.”

Kevin Walters and Shaun Johnson said Brisbane’s disappointing campaign could be put down to a contribution of factors including injuries and a change in expectations.

“Everyone’s questioning why the Broncos are sitting where they are,” Walters said.

“They’ve had some injuries, some players not quite playing where they were last year. It’s a whole mixture of things. It’s not just one single element to the Broncos.

“I thought they tried really hard, they just didn’t have enough out there to beat the Roosters.

“The Roosters are confident winning side. When you’re not winning, you lose seven games in a row, that just leaks confidence out of you.”

Johnson added: “I thought they were tough tonight. They can take a lot away from it. There’s that element of fatigue.

“My take is when there’s success, it creates a certain level of expectation internally. As teammates and players, sometimes when things don’t play out the way you want them to or expect you can start really unravel. That’s what I see happened. They might feel like they can get these wins and understand what good performance looks like, but when it doesn’t unfold the way they want it to, then what?

“’We’ve just won a comp, we’ve done some special things as a group, why can’t we go it again?’

“Unravelling and that connection piece that saw go on that run at the end of last year not quite there.”

Maroons star faces nervous wait
Queensland will be sweating on Linday Collins’ availability for the State of Origin decider after the Roosters prop was placed on report for a high shot on Brisbane’s Xavier Willison, who played no further part in the game.

Collins also came off himself later in the game after suffereing a head knock. The State of Origin decider is 12 days away so Collins won’t be able to train in Maroons camp even if he he escapes suspension.

Robert Toia and Sam Walker were also put on report but are unlikely to be suspended.

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