Brisbane legend Darren Lockyer has issued a chilling warning to his beloved Broncos after a shock loss to Canberra.
The Broncos were on top of the world after a 50-14 round one win against the depleted Roosters, but tumbled back down to earth in a surprise 32-22 defeat in the nation's capital on Saturday when they were heavy favourites.
The team also won the pre-season challenge this year after showing hot form in the official trials, and plenty have been tipping them as genuine premiership contenders.
They also won last year's pre-season challenge - but then everything fell apart.
Brisbane finished the 2023 season second on the ladder, and was 15 minutes from winning the grand final only to be undone by a 15-minute Nathan Cleary masterclass.
The following season the bumbling Broncos tumbled down the ladder and finished 12th, with only 10 wins from 24 games.
The disastrous season cost coach Kevin Walters his job, and had experts questioning the mindset of the players who were accused of acting like rockstars rather than focusing on football.
And after Saturday's loss to the Raiders, Lockyer fears that attitude is creeping back in at Red Hill.
"I think it's always a risk," Lockyer told Wide World of Sports' QLDER when asked if the Broncos got ahead of themsleves after the Roosters game.
"You've got social media as well now, so if there's people talking you up as an individual or as a team you're going to hear about it.
"If I was to use the analogy, it's a bit like what happened after 2023.
"Everyone just thought you could roll through 2024 and it could happen again - but you've still got to go and earn every win.
"From that perspective that's a lesson learned. You still have to go out there, roll the sleeves up and earn the win."
After Saturday's shock loss, Raiders legend Mal Meninga accused the Broncos of flying to Canberra with the assumption it would be an easy victory.
Sitting on Fox League's panel for the game, Kieran Foran said the team "got their pants pulled down".
Lockyer tends to agree.
"I think (it is) a reality check," he said.
"There were a lot of good signs in the trials, the win against the Chooks was good, lot of talk about the club and the team.
"What (the loss) reinforces is you still have to go and earn every win... and the Raiders out-enthused the Broncos early.
"It definitely brings them back to earth, that's for sure."
The Broncos get a reprieve of sorts in round three as they host the struggling Cowboys at Suncorp Stadium.
North Queensland is coming off awful losses to Manly and Cronulla to start the season.
WWOS
