Queensland produced their best Super Rugby display of a nightmare season to celebrate Will Genia's 100th Reds match with a thrilling 38-31 upset of the Highlanders.
Genia was superb in a man-of-the-match display at Suncorp Stadium as the Reds ended their worst losing streak since 2007 with a Jake Schatz try after the full-time hooter.
The Reds went 50m in almost two minutes of "red time" with countless rumbling phases before No.8 Schatz barged over for his second try of a pulsating encounter.
It was not only a win cheered on by 24,490 Brisbane fans but by a host of rival Australian and Kiwi teams as the result put a significant dent in the sixth-placed Highlanders' play-off hopes.
Queensland appeared to have the match parcelled up at 28-7 when they bagged a four-try bonus point in the 48th minute with Schatz scoring his first five-pointer from a pushover scrum.
They were also leading 31-17 with five minutes left before Ben Lucas, filling in for the injured Quade Cooper, gave Patrick Osborne an 80m intercept try to close the gap to seven.
It appeared the Reds' rotten luck in their string of six straight losses had continued when reserve half-back Fumiaki Tanaka dived over with a minute left.
But the final result was thoroughly deserving for Queensland - who dominated the set pieces - and Genia especially.
Under fire this season for shelving his running game, the 55-Test half-back was at his roaming best from the outset to the delight of the home crowd.
Not only was Genia probing but his kicking was a feature of Queensland's superb first half.
It was his right boot which created a 21-0 half-time lead with kicks that resulted in tries to wingers Rod Davies and Dom Shipperley.
The Highlanders showed their intent early with a high-octane attacking game but the Reds' scrambling defence and their superior work at the breakdown got them out of jail.
Queensland's lineout also saved them under pressure in their own half with Wallabies lock Rob Simmons standing tall a week out from the opening Test against France.
With Genia and Lucas combining well, the Reds also showed enterprise in attack in a pulsating first half.
Three times full-back Mike Harris was put into holes out wide. On the third he set up position for a patient attack on the line that flanker Curtis Browning finally finished by ploughing over under the posts.
Harris' radar boot was key for the Reds as he kicked five from five while the Highlanders were left to rue a controversial TMO decision disallowing a Ben Smith try.
Western Force flanker Angus Cottrell will miss the rest of the Super Rugby season after breaking his leg in Friday night's 30-7 loss to the Crusaders in Christchurch.
Cottrell was taken to hospital after his lower left leg twisted awkwardly under the weight of two Crusaders defenders in the dying minutes of the match.
The injury capped a disappointing night for the Force, who started the round in fourth spot but could slip to as low as eighth by Sunday.
Cottrell has been one of the Force's most consistent players this season, and Force coach Michael Foley backed the 24-year-old to rebound strongly from the injury.
"His mum and dad are here thankfully so they're with him and our doctor at the hospital," Foley said. "He's an incredibly tough bugger. For such a young guy with so little experience, he's a very resilient person.
"He comes from a very good family. He'll recover well and play better again next season."
The Force trailed 16-0 at half-time, but a 49th-minute try to Dane Haylett-Petty gave them a sniff of victory. However, any chance of a boilover was snuffed out in the 71st minute when Force lock Sam Wykes was sin binned.
The Crusaders were awarded two penalty tries in the next nine minutes as their rolling mauls proved too hard to stop.
The Force entered the match missing almost half of their preferred starting line-up. Their backline was particularly depleted, with Kyle Godwin (knee), Solomoni Rasolea (arm), Alby Mathewson (ankle), Marcel Brache (ankle) and Luke Morahan (hamstring) all set to return after the three-week Test window.
Ben McCalman's groin injury robbed the Force of much-need grunt, and they were made to defend grimly for much of the first half as the Crusaders launched wave after wave of attack.
In the first 22 minutes, the Force had just 12 per cent territory, but their defence managed to hold firm.
Two penalties from Colin Slade gave the Crusaders a 6-0 lead, and their dominance eventually paid dividends in the 27th minute when Israel Dagg beat two defenders to gift winger Johnny McNicholl a try.
The Force showed more fight in the second half, but Wykes' sin binning for disrupting the Crusaders' powerful maul proved to be the killer blow.
Although the Force are likely to tumble out of the top-six, they are still well placed to secure a maiden finals berth once the Super competition resumes after next month's Test window.
