Prop Payne Haas says Brisbane’s NRL finals destiny is in their own hands with three-straight home games on the horizon.
The Broncos held onto eighth spot with a scrappy last round win over North Queensland.
And Haas believes they could decide their finals fate in the string of Suncorp Stadium matches starting against Penrith on Friday night.
They also host South Sydney and Parramatta before travelling to Sydney to take on Canterbury in their regular-season finale.
Haas says Brisbane don’t want to look too far ahead but the 19-year-old admits he craves playing finals footy for the first time in what would be his second full season of first grade.
“If we put in the work we will get what we deserve,” he said.
“It’s something every kid wants to do playing footy. We are trying every week to get that finals spot.”
Haas was again a standout against the Cowboys, running 236m with six tackle busts.
But he took most pride out of notching 30 tackles without a miss.
Overall, Brisbane missed just 10 tackles compared to North Queensland’s 47.
It was a shot in the arm after a 40-4 thrashing by Melbourne two weeks ago.
“Defence is always key,” Haas said. “If you do that well you are always going to win games.
“Against the Storm I missed four tackles. I had to work on my technique.
“Every week I am trying to learn and improve.”
Defensively, Brisbane may have improved but Haas admits their attack still leaves a lot to be desired.
Halves Darius Boyd and Jake Turpin have copped most criticism for their lack of direction, earning the ire of the likes of ex-Broncos skipper Darren Lockyer and Andrew Johns following the Cowboys clash.
“Defensively we went well (against North Queensland) but our attack near the line was a bit frantic,” Haas said.
“We are working on that this week. We just have to pick up our talk but I think we will be fine on Friday.”