Demetriou, like Bennett, has little time for Seibold. This win was personal.

Demetriou, 44, will now try to lead Souths to another success against North Queensland next Saturday before the supercoach returns from his 14-day isolation.

Bennett's decision to dine at swanky Italian eatery Grappa in Leichhardt could have proven a distraction. But Demetriou and Bennett's other trusty assistants had the players humming.

"I spoke to the big fella on the phone [after the game] and he said it was very professional,'' Demetriou said.

"I thought Adam Reynolds and Cody Walker controlled the game really well, we were prepared to break them down and take our chances when they came.

"I'm sure the players will be sending him texts, but Wayne and technology, it will be a while before they get a response.

"It was a crazy 24 hours. The week was pretty much done. Today was easy. It was about coming here and making sure the messages that we gave through the week were the messages the players got.

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"The boys knew what their job was and they did it well."

There was plenty to like about Souths as they turned the tables on the Broncos, who defeated them in round two before the competition went into lockdown.

Reynolds' short kicking game was fantastic at times in the slippery conditions, forcing a few repeat sets early in the second half that tired the Broncos' big men.

Mark Nicholls scored just his third career try and what was arguably the softest four-pointer of the season just before the break.

And even big Tom Burgess came up with a rare try while also having another denied when he bounced a Walker grubber.

Souths are still a fair way off being the finished product. Time will tell if they actually reach their full potential this year.

They have enough strike across the park – not to mention Bennett in their corner – that will leave plenty of rivals feeling jittery when they come up against them in the run home to the finals.

The Broncos could finish the weekend on the bottom of the ladder should Canterbury cause a Sunshine Coast boilover against the Melbourne Storm.

Don't expect many tears south of the border if the Queensland powerhouse drop to last.

They had their own COVID dramas on Friday when Allan Langer and two other assistants were stood down for attending a function last weekend.

Talk about Seibold's future will be a hot topic again, and if we're being fair dinkum, the Broncos will be flat out beating the Raiders next weekend in the nation's capital.

Seibold said the 10-4 penalty count and Souths' polished end to their sets was the big difference.

"We're sitting second last on the ladder, 50/50 calls don't generally go to teams sitting down the bottom of the table. It was very frustrating [seeing] some of the decisions,'' Seibold said.

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He was pleased that Brisbane only conceded one try in the second half, despite Reynolds' ''outstanding'' kicking game that continually forced repeat sets.

Souths fans turned to his box and heckled Seibold, who famously walked out on them two summers ago for the chance to sign a long-term deal at Red Hill.

David Fifita would have at least pleased a few Gold Coast fans when he scored a try and proved a handful in his first game back since round two.

Fifita was busy early but made a decent statement when he stampeded over the top of Walker early in the second half to score.

It was the sort of intimidating powerhouse run that helped him convince the Titans to throw $3.5m at him for the next three years.

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Once Fifita had scored, the Broncos looked ready to get themselves right back in the game.

They were given a few set re-starts, pinned Souths deep in their own half, but then gave away a penalty for being offside, were marched 10m for dissent, and conceded another penalty at the other end of the ground to gift Souths two more points.

The visitors never looked likely from that moment.

Tom Dearden showed good signs, while Kotoni Staggs was busy again on his right edge parked outside Fifita.