After the worst season in Brisbane's proud history, there are many areas new coach Kevin Walters will be aiming to improve drastically in 2021.
Having finished last for the first time in the season gone, the Broncos struggled mightily in key areas like gaining and restricting run metres (16th in both categories), possession (45.9%) and time in opposition territory (46.5%).
But perhaps most concerning was a league-high penalty count of 123 over the 20 rounds. While some aspects of Brisbane's horror campaign were out of their hands, discipline was not.
The Titans (117 penalties) and Warriors (113) were just behind the Broncos, followed by top-four teams Sydney Roosters (110) and Melbourne (108). The Roosters and Storm both backed themselves to defend penalties.
Brisbane were not able to absorb the pressure created by their ill-discipline. Of the 107 tries they conceded - easily the worst in the competition - 22 came on the back of penalties and another 21 from "six-again" ruck infringements (of which they committed 75, the equal-fifth most).
Lock Pat Carrigan was the team's most-penalised player (11), with centre Kotoni Staggs (9), five-eighth Anthony Milford (8) and prop Matt Lodge (8) also among those to repeatedly earn the ire of the referee.
Dangerous tackles (25) proved the most common cause for the Broncos to be pinged ahead of offside inside 10 metres (23).
With the rules to be tweaked this year so that 10-metre infringements will result in a six-again call - which Brisbane struggled to defend against - they can't afford a repeat of 2020.
