Sitting on the sidelines, winger Corey Oates admits he wasn't confident of earning a recall from injury any time soon watching his replacement David Mead's impressive Brisbane debut.
Talking to Broncos coach Wayne Bennett afterwards didn't exactly lift his spirits either.
"He kept saying 'Meady has got your spot, you will probably have to go and play for Ipswich'," Oates laughed.
Oates was again all smiles after overcoming a groin complaint and being slotted straight back into the starting side for Friday night's NRL derby with Gold Coast Titans.
But Oates insisted his fears over snatching back his spot from Mead were genuine.
No wonder.
As a last-minute replacement for Oates, ex-Titans flyer Mead ran 174m, made two line breaks and scored a try in last week's 32-8 win over Sydney Roosters.
"No, I wasn't confident (of a recall)," Oates said. "Meady played unbelievable.
"I got a bit scared but I got called back in which is lucky."
Oates may be back in the No.2 jersey but Mead looks set to stay in the 17 after being named in an extended squad for the clash against his former club.
"My groin was playing up from the start and it wasn't getting too much better," Oates said of his last-round withdrawal.
"I thought I might need a break and it worked."
Now Oates hopes to pick up where Mead left off on Friday night.
"Last week was good to watch, our attack was where we wanted it to be," Oates said.
"Our defence is always there but our attack hadn't (been) but last round we showed what we could really do.
"Hopefully we can do that again on Friday night."
After regaining his Broncos spot, incumbent Queensland winger Oates believes he has his work cut out to earn another recall - for the Maroons.
"I am not where I want to be," he said.
"I feel like I can still give a bit more.
"With a week off hopefully I can come into this game a lot fresher and be satisfied with my game."
