Brisbane coach Michael Maguire has sidestepped inquiries regarding his suitability to guide the team after a heavy 46-20 defeat at home to the Storm.
In the match on Thursday, Brisbane missed 43 tackles and committed 14 errors, resulting in an eight-tries-to-four drubbing by Melbourne, who also find themselves out of finals contention after facing the Broncos in last year's grand final.
The defeat capped a challenging week for Maguire and the champions, especially after the club denied captain Adam Reynolds a farewell at home, as the team appeared to play as if they wanted the season to conclude.
When a journalist pointedly asked Maguire if he was the right man for the job, he focused on his players instead of his own challenges.
"I know what this group's capable of, as we've shown at times throughout the year," Maguire stated.
"We need to be smarter and better at times within games.
"We go through many a game where we just shot ourselves when we put ourselves in a position to actually go for it, and that comes with a bit of confidence and belief around what we're doing, and we can grow that very quickly.
"This group's shown that over its history, so we've got to make sure that we get this week right and applaud those players that will be playing and leaving us, but also too, moving into the future, going back to some of the things that when I first got here, they instilled inside what makes great teams because it's inside them."
The match also featured a trial of a new rule allowing the team conceding points to decide whether to kick off or receive the ball afterward.
Even after both teams scored a total of seven tries in the first half, neither opted for the new rule until Melbourne did so in the 50th minute.
Ultimately, both teams tried the option, but players indicated the rule isn't well received.
Broncos captain Pat Carrigan and Storm captain Harry Grant shared the sentiment that the game functions well without such modifications.
"Personally, I love the game," Grant said.
"I've loved the game for so many years. Since I was four years old, I've played it.
"I think that's part of the fabric of the game and we don't need to change it. We're bringing in a rule to counteract rules we've brought in.
"So maybe we can have a deep, hard look at going back on a few rules if that's where we sit with it."