Canberra coach David Furner hailed his side's character and heart after it repelled wave after wave of Brisbane attack to record a gritty 22-14 win at Canberra Stadium on Monday night.
The Green Machine looked like it was running on empty late in the game as the Broncos came from 18-0 down to trail by just four with 12 minutes left.
But some desperate defence – including a ramming tackle from captain Alan Tongue which turned over possession at a critical stage - denied fast-finishing Brisbane.
Raiders half-back Josh McCrone sealed a courageous victory – his team's first of the new campaign - with a try in the final minute.
"It was a tremendous effort by the players and I'll give them plenty of credit for that win," Furner said.
"We were probably a little bit down on energy but it showed, especially in the second half, the character which is in the team."
Furner said Canberra got its act together just in time as Brisbane moved into for the killer blow with 10 minutes on the clock.
"We needed a little bit of composure…a little bit of discipline and getting to the end of our sets," he explained.
"We put a little bit of pressure on ourselves in that second half but they just kept turning up for each other (in defence)."
Brisbane coach Ivan Henjak lamented his team's dumb first half performance, punctuated by dropped ball and poor options
"We had our opportunities there and we just didn't play smart," he said.
"If we had of played smart, the scoreline would have been different in the first half."