Reds coach Brad Thorn says a 31-24 win over the Force was a "big step" for his team but there is plenty more work to do.
In their first win over the WA outfit in Super Rugby since 2015, the Reds found themselves in a 14-point hole after just 14 minutes before scoring three quick tries of their own in a helter-skelter opening 40.
Things slowed down in the second half with just a Filipo Daugunu try in 25 minutes keeping the Reds on top but the Force defence managed to keep Queensland out against the run fo play.
The Force narrowed the gap back to four points with 10 minutes to go and a fourth yellow card in three matches, to Queensland centre Hunter Paisami, opened the door for the Force to pull off an upset.
They couldn't quite walk through that door frame, though, and a James O'Connor drop goal iced the game for the hosts.
A final chance from a lineout gave the Force the chance to push the game into Super Time and they just collected it but a knock-on ended the game before they could add an extra stanza.
Thorn said while he was pleased they managed to hold out the Force, he wasn't simply satisfied with clinching the result.
"There was a step taken tonight but we'll continue to build," he said.
"We left some points out there, which is exciting, potential and all that but I guess that's part of this comp, us just seeking to improve.
"You take the win because you know from experience,sometimes you get some wins and some losses where you probably deserve the win and you've just got to take the win tonight and the guys put a lot of effort in and they can be really proud when they were down to 14 men at the end.:
Force coach Tim Sampson said he was "bloody proud" of his charges after a second single-digit loss in a row.
"Only second game in, we went to another level tonight," he said.
"I think we'll get better each week.
"Gee, there was a lot to like about tonight. It's not a word I use too often to the guys, I mentioned to the guys is that proud word.
"I think it gets thrown around too loosely but I was bloody proud tonight."
Queensland dominated at scrum time but were undone at times by ill-discipline and basic errors early in the piece.
The Force peppered the Queensland line early, dominating possession but the Reds defence forced them into basic mistakes.
Their attacking pressure eventually paid off with Marcel Brache pouncing on a loose ball and sending a long pass out wide to fullback Jack McGregor to score.
They went to the opposite wing for Byron Ralston to score their second try in three minutes, with Brache again opening some space before they sent it to the right edge.
The Reds returned serve with a slick passing chain putting hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa over in the corner.
Queensland had their own quickfire double with a Hunter Paisami break putting the Reds in dangerous territory, with fullback Jock Campbell finishing off the chain.
By the 27-minute mark, the Reds had snatched back the lead through a powerful Taniela Tupou try.
In the space of 14 minutes, Queensland had flipped the match on its head but they were left to rue their own mistakes as they looked to build on their advantage.
For the second week in a row, James O’Connor threw an intercept that led directly to a Byron Ralston try but the Force stayed two points down after Daugunu charged down Jono Lance’s attempted conversion.
A deft Hamish Stewart pass put Daugunu over in the 44th minute and stretched the Reds out to a nine-point advantage.
Reds skipper Liam Wright tried to pull off a sneaky try coming around from behind the ruck but he failed to ground the ball, instead forcing the Force in-goal and giving Queensland a chance to go to a scrum.
Queensland let another chance go begging when Chris Feauai-Sautia put a chip kick over the top of the Force defence but Jock Campbell wasn’t able to gather the kick after an awkward bounce.
Though the Reds had much of the momentum in that second half, the Force defence hung tight in trying to limit their scores.
A Hunter Paisami lifting tackle on Kyle Godwin left the Reds a man down for the final 10 minutes, the third week in a row that they have been forced to play with 14 men.
While Thorn did not dispute Paisami's card, he did hint that penalties like that were an expected side effect of what he deemed an increasingly physical Queensland outfit.
"You can't be lifting and that sort of thing but on the other side of that, isn't that exciting for the game?," he said.
"You like to see the ball put through the hands for a lovely try in the corner but you also love to see the big collisions.
"You saw some tonight and I thought there was a lot of stuff I really appreciate about that."
Two lineouts lost against their throw left the Force unable to capitalise on their one-man advantage but they still had the lion's share of the attacking momentum.
Queensland began to build pressure and after a 12-phase roll, O'Connor slotted a drop goal to keep the Reds seven points up, and the Force couldn't even things up.
The Force suffered an early injury blow with captain Prior forced off with what appeared to be a shoulder injury before the half-hour mark.
Prior said he was confident the injury wasn't major.
"Just a really bad stinger, just went numb for a while there and didn't really come back too quickly so didn't want to hamper the team's efforts there," he said.
"Got full range back there now which is good just obviously a bit frustrating, liked to have been out there a bit longer to help out with the team."
Queensland have the bye next week while the Force face the competition favourite Brumbies.
RESULT
Reds 31
Tries: Paenga-Amosa, Campbell, Tupou, Daugunu
Cons: O’Connor 4
Drop: O'Connor
Force 24
Tries: Ralston 2, McGregor, Ready
Cons: Prior 2
