Brisbane second-row forward Sam Thaiday says his side must improve if they are to beat either Melbourne or North Queensland in a semi-final showdown.
The Broncos' future opponent will be decided in Saturday night's qualifying final, with the loser of the Storm v Cowboys match-up to play Wayne Bennett's men in a sudden-death clash.
Brisbane progressed to Week 2 of the finals with a 44-28 win over the Gold Coast Titans at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.
The win was less than convincing for the Broncos, trailing 18-16 at half-time after a disappointing first 40 minutes.
They may have turned the scoreline around, but it was still a sombre mood in Brisbane's rooms after the match.
Normally filled with loud music and a great atmosphere, the Broncos' sheds were eerily quiet at full-time, and a disappointed Thaiday said the team wasn't happy with their performance.
"If we play like we did tonight then I don't think we'll beat North Queensland or Melbourne," Thaiday said.
"If we play like we did in the first half then we'll be way off the standards we expect of ourselves.
"We need to improve, if not then the Storm and the Cowboys will be way too good for us.
"There are a couple of things we need to fix on Monday so we'll do that. For now it's time to sit back over the weekend and see whom we have to play.
"We're still winning and that's all we can continue to do. It's do or die every week for us so we'll keep on trying to perform at our best."
One positive out of Brisbane's win was the fast finish that saw them score 28 points in the second half against a quality Gold Coast opposition.
It's the second biggest half of football for the Broncos this season, only beaten by their 31-point second half demolition against wooden-spooners the Newcastle Knights in Round 7.
But Thaiday was disappointed that Brisbane even needed to have such a big second half to seal the match, saying that if his side had started well like they should have then a huge effort in the second half wouldn't have been necessary.
"It wasn't entertaining for us, especially in the first half where it was a tough old slog," he said.
"We got things back to where we wanted them to be in the second half. We had a bit of luck and that helped.
"We had a big finish but now we must work on our start. If we can get that right then we can continue to win."
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