Brisbane have been struck a massive blow with hooker Andrew McCullough suffering a suspected serious knee injury in their 28-14 loss to Parramatta at ANZ Stadium on Friday night.
The Eels made a big statement about their finals credentials as they strangled the Broncos out of the match to all but wrap up a top eight berth.
The Broncos seemingly fell in a heap in the finals 12 minutes after losing McCullough to a suspected medial ligament injury.
The Brisbane dummy-half will undergo scans on Saturday and will miss five to six weeks if the early prognosis is confirmed.
It's an injury which could have major ramifications for the Broncos' title push with no clear replacement for McCullough - the competition's second top tackler this year with 45.6 per game.
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"He makes 50 tackles, we need to find someone who will do that many for us," Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett said.
"He's a big player in our team. We've got a couple of options."
Kodi Nikorima - who sat out Friday's game due to a hip injury - shapes as a possible replacement, however he has never started a game at No.9.
While the result dented the fortunes of the Broncos, the Eels made a big statement about whether they could contend with the top sides this year.
After Brisbane raced out to a 12-0 lead, they didn't cross for another try after the eighth minute in what was a sometimes fiery affair.
There was plenty of feeling between the two sides after they nearly came to blows over an ugly hit on Jonus Pearson for which Nathan Brown was put on report.
However Kenny Edwards could be in more trouble over the incident after he led with the shoulder to hit the Broncos winger as he lay prone on the ground, setting off a push-and-shove.
With the scores locked at 14-14 heading into the final 20 minutes, Kirisome Auva'a broke the deadlock when he danced down the sideline for the match-winning try five minutes from fulltime.
The result all but assures the Eels of returning to the finals for the first time since 2009, however coach Brad Arthur said he still wasn't satisfied.
"We still haven't got 80 minutes out yet, we were good for 75, I thought," Arthur said.
"In my view we were the better team for 75 but the first five minutes, I'm not sure if we were positive and confident enough."
