A coming-of-age performance from Brisbane's young forwards excited coach Kevin Walters as the Broncos almost secured a major upset over the Panthers.
Walters made it clear that he is "never happy with a loss", but there was plenty to like about Saturday night's 18-12 defeat at Suncorp Stadium including keeping Penrith try-less during the first half.
While star prop Payne Haas and centre Kotoni Staggs were terrific, Walters nominated rising front-rower Tom Flegler and some unheralded members of the pack as his standouts.
"I thought Tom Flegler had his best game for the club this year, certainly. Keenan Palasia was good as well," Walters said.
"Rooster [Rhys Kennedy] - all those younger forwards really stood up tonight, particularly in defence. Kobe Hetherington was another one who defensively was really good and picked up a try.
Pure determination from Hetherington
"So I'm particularly happy with those guys coming through. They're a tight bunch of young fellas and it's coming through finally now in their football – their care. They're playing for each other, which is what we needed to happen probably six months ago."
Flegler was sin-binned for a high tackle on Panthers captain Isaah Yeo in the eighth minute but ended up recording 149 metres from 15 runs as well as 37 tackles with only one miss.
Walters believes the 21-year-old has grown from making his Queensland State of Origin debut earlier this month and is "bloody excited" to watch the Tully Tigers junior continue to progress.
Bullemor straight through the front door
After being beaten 42-24 by the Wests Tigers last week - conceding 32 points in the second half - Walters said his troops had made "big strides" against one of the competition's premier outfits.
"At the start of the game, we were under pressure straight away. Often that can bring teams together and if you can defend your line like the way we did and the opposition don't score, that always helps with the confidence of the team," the mentor said.
"It was good at stages, just not quite good enough at the end with our attack to get the job done.
"I liked the way they stuck together. They played together, which is what we've been striving for all season. I saw some really good signs tonight of that. Coming together, working hard for each other.
"Sure, there are some things we can do better with our attack, but defensively, I was really happy with our effort to keep Penrith to 18."
