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QUEENSLAND Reds coach Eddie Jones fired a post-match salvo at young gun Quade Cooper's management after the rookie misfired during a heart-breaking defeat that singled the worst Reds losing run in 20 years.
Five-eighth Cooper dropped the ball almost as many times as he caught it at Suncorp Stadium as Queensland lost 21-19 to the Chiefs after staring victory in the face.
The 18 year old appeared desperate to produce the match-winning play every time he had the ball against the province of his birth but made four errors in the first 18 minutes, among them six dropped balls in what was a scrappy match.
A downcast Jones took aim at whiz-kid Cooper's unnamed agent for "bad advice" in pumping him up as a star-in-the-making. "His manager is pushing him here there and everywhere," he said. "At school he was the biggest kid on the block. Now he's the smallest kid on the block and it's hard. "He's an outstanding young player and he doesn't need to be spoken about in a World Cup squad, he shouldn't be talking to the Wallabies (Australia) coach, he shouldn't be having extra kicking lessons with a punting coach."
The self-destructing Reds let yet another second-half lead slip - the fourth time they have done so this season - to fall to their seventh straight loss and stay entrenched on the bottom of the ladder.
Chiefs fly half Stephen Donald delivered the painful blow in the 77th minute when he slotted a 36-metre penalty goal to take back the lead after prodigal son Andrew Walker had put the Reds in front just a minute earlier.
In a play which has epitomised their season, lock James Horwill dropped the restart and reserve prop Ernest Skelton was penalised at the breakdown. Not since Bob Templeton led the amateur Queensland to seven consecutive defeats in 1988 has the state suffered such a poor run.
Lock Kristian Ormsby scored both of the Chiefs' tries, with his second coming just two minutes into the second half after Queensland held a 16-10 lead at the break. It was laid on by Sione Lauaki's storming run over the top of Waikato-bred Cooper.
Cooper did show his undisputed class in the 30th minute with a deft inside ball to David Croft put the tenacious flanker into space and he shook off a feeble tackle by Lauaki in a 25-metre run to the line.
Jones praised the performance of 33-year-old full back Walker, who gave the Reds the spark and cool head they needed on several occasions times. But he was ultimately left to admit it would take longer to solve inherent problems in the team. "We've got guys out there (in the dressing room) bawling their eyes out now," Walker said.
"Sometimes as an organisation you have to hit rock bottom . . . to see how deep-seated your problems are. "That's five out of eight games now that we've been ahead at the 70-minute mark and I think we've won one."
Reconditioned New Zealand halfback Byron Kelleher and teammate Sitiveni Sivivatu produced a mixed bag, with Kelleher making a break with his first touch but Sivivatu unable to finish it. The winger, run down by Hynes, also bombed a golden chance midway through the second half when a pass went beyond Donald just metres from the line.
Loose-head prop Herman Hunt deserved a bravery award after lasting 71 minutes and ensuring a stable scrum despite injuring his shoulder early in the piece.
QUEENSLAND REDS 19 (David Croft try; Andrew Walker con, 4 pens)
CHIEFS 21 (Kristian Ormsby 2 tries; Stephen Donald con, 3 pens)
Referee: Willie Roos (RSA)
Crowd: 16,830 at Suncorp Stadium.