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The most unlikely of Brisbane teams caused an epic 34-16 boilover against the heavily fancied Sydney Roosters on a special night at the SCG.

If not for Victor Radley's meltdown, Brisbane's shock 34-16 upset on Saturday night would have been the story of the weekend in the NRL.

The most unlikely of teams, including a halves partnership of ex-Cronulla and Gold Coast veteran Albert Kelly and rookie Tyson Gamble, sprung the upset of the season over the Sydney Roosters.

Coming into Saturday's game the Roosters had outscored the Broncos 117-12 in their previous two matches.

But by disrupting the poise of Trent Robinson's well-drilled men, the inexperienced Broncos romped to just their third win of the season.

As the Roosters deal with the fall out of Radley's two sin-binnings and the inevitable charges coming his way from the match review committee, the Broncos are celebrating a win that could change their season.

"It was a real turning point for us tonight," said coach Kevin Walters after the game, who was careful to keep his emotions in check.

"We just have to build on this now."

The addition of Kelly into the halves simply put the polish on the end of sets the Broncos have been missing for two seasons.

It was his first NRL game in seven seasons since playing for Hull KR and Hull FC in the Super League, before joining the Broncos on a train and trial deal at the start of the year.

After playing six games for Souths Logan in Queensland Cup, the 30-year-old was a surprise addition to the side on Tuesday after Walters dumped million-dollar half Anthony Milford for the second time this season.

Kelly then merely capitalised on the physical work Matt Lodge, Tevita Pangai Junior and Payne Haas did up front to unsettle the Roosters at the SCG.

"He's played a lot of football, both here and over in the UK, but what struck me most before we selected him was his character and his attitude around everything that he was doing," Walters said of Kelly.

"When you see signs like that in players, you know they're going after something.

"He was going after the jersey at the Broncos and he's got one now."

The shock loss came on what should have been a gutsy night for the Roosters if they were to pay proper respect to Jake Friend's career.

The former skipper retired from the game earlier this season due to repeated concussions and was officially farewelled in front of a sombre crowd at the SCG after Saturday night's loss.