Graham Lowe: Sun shines on Broncos - and me

Here in sunny Queensland, they call it beautiful one day, perfect the next.

Trouble is, nearly 30 years of hanging round desolate grounds on cold winter nights has taught me that no footy team ever merited that description.

They're saying up here this 2005 Broncos outfit could come as close as it gets to perfection.

And it's hard to argue with Bronco fans that their team already look on track to win the NRL.

Their win against the Bulldogs on Sunday had all the hallmarks of a club with a premiership in their sights. Once again they showed that when the going was toughest, they were capable of putting the opposition away.

The Broncos are definitely on a roll, winning their last five games. Just as importantly, they are playing a spectacular style of football in front of boomer crowds averaging 30,000 at Suncorp Stadium.

This season has shown that NRL favouritism is a week-to-week proposition, but Wayne Bennett's boys have certainly got all their ducks in a row at present.

And this strong march forward by Bennett's team has come at just the right time. State of Origin football is starting soon, and it's well-known this puts a severe strain on the Broncos' resources.

The optimism surrounding the Broncos in Queensland is quite extraordinary. To be honest, it's also very refreshing after the negative environment in Auckland whenever the Warriors are discussed.

While the Broncos appear to be setting the pace, their match this week against the Cowboys looms as the next big test of the heavyweights in the competition.

The Cowboys received the shock of their lives with a 12-50 thrashing at the hands of the underachieving Eels last weekend.

The North Queenslanders should have got enough of a lesson to have them primed to set the record - and their doubters - straight with a much better performance against their Queensland cousins.

Last Sunday's clash at Suncorp between the Dogs and the Broncos was a thriller.

It produced a cruel ending for the Bulldogs, who not only watched Darren Lockyer break the 28-28 deadlock through a field goal with just 57 seconds left on the clock, but then conceded a try after attempting a short kickoff.

The final scoreline of 35-28 was not a true reflection of the game and the Dogs would have flown back to Sydney feeling cheated.

It was certainly great drama, and in stark contrast to what the poor old Warriors fans had to suffer watching the last-minute loss to the Sharks in Perth.

Knowing how to win or, conversely, how not to lose in tight situations is a lesson any true premiership contender must learn.

It's one of the most gut-wrenching feelings in sport, to have victory evaporate in the dying seconds. I still have nightmares about John Ribot for Australia in 1985, taking the game away from the Kiwis at Carlaw Park with the last play of the match. 

I thought the Warriors did enough to win, with Lance Hohaia outstanding. His effort in running down Nigel Vagana was one of the grittiest moments of the season so far, and he kicked with great assurance.

With Stacey Jones a late withdrawal, this may well have been the making of Hohaia, giving him the confidence in his own ability to silence many of the critics who have questioned his commitment.

It doesn't get any easier for the Warriors this week, with a Roosters side struggling to find the form of the past two years and desperate to put some wins together.

So it may be a while yet before loyal Warriors fans can taste what the banana-benders are enjoying up here - beautiful one game, perfect the next!