More than five minutes after the event, Quade Cooper was still shaking his head in disbelief.

During the final seconds of the Lions-Reds match, Cooper, in his return appearance from injury, had the chance to give the dwindling Queensland faithful something back for suffering so much agony the past few seasons.

The Reds moved the play to midfield so that Cooper could set himself up for a field goal that would give them a two-point victory. The field position was fine, just over 30 metres out. The pass from scrum-half Will Genia was reasonable. But it didn't come quickly enough. By the time Cooper had dropped the ball onto his boot he had been swamped by three Lions defenders, who had effectively built a near impenetrable wall around him. A Bend it like Beckham moment was required, but the ball went nowhere, squirting off the boot straight into one of the marauding Lions.

The moment was lost. Cooper was devastated. The other players moved away, but Genia and Cooper lingered. Cooper wanted to get his head right. Genia threw numerous passes at him, so that Cooper could remember what it was like to pot a field goal straight through the sticks. Numerous shots were missed. Cooper continued to look disconsolate. Enough was enough. Genia tried to encourage Cooper with a quick shake of hands, and they walked off.

In such circumstances, a Reds win would have prompted "Cooper is the Saviour" headlines, and suggestions that a remedy for the Queensland dry rot may at last have been discovered. But a win would only have camouflaged the deep, underlying problems that have seen the Reds take a dramatic nose-dive since their 2011 Super Rugby triumph.

Quade Cooper revitalises the spectator and inspires team-mates, Greg Growden says © Getty Images

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The Reds are now in 14th spot, boasting only one victory from six matches, to emphasise how crucial it is that the Queensland Rugby Union stops sitting on its hands and does something about kick-starting a team that is low in spirit and camaraderie. It is clear head coach Richard Graham is struggling enormously to retain the faith of his players, and it is as clear that off-field changes are required … the quicker the better.

Rugby fans aren't mugs. The Brisbane home crowd figure is dropping, and it wasn't that long ago, during another Reds slump, that the QRU found itself in financial crisis, requiring a lifeline from the Australian Rugby Union. Bums on seats are so critical at every Australian rugby franchise.

At least there was one positive from the missed opportunity on Friday. The Reds are again worth watching, because Cooper is once more wearing the No.10 jersey.

It's unfortunate the Lions victory will be remembered most for Cooper's 80th-minute field goal miss because the Test No.10's presence otherwise enlightened the game. He remains one of the very few players in Super Rugby ranks who is consistently prepared to do something outlandish. He remains compelling viewing.

What Cooper attempts often doesn't come off, but when it does it revitalises the spectator and inspires team-mates; and there were several of those moments against the Lions, which saw the Reds produce easily their best attacking performance of the season.

That may not be saying much, as the Reds had until Friday night been an attacking wasteland, but the tempo lifted immediately as Cooper tried flick passes, jinks and weaves, involving himself in several smart manoeuvres that included decoy attackers and precise running lines.

The best example of that was the excellent build-up to Samu Kerevi's second-half try that gave the Reds the lead. From a Queensland scrum, Genia threw wide to a drifting replacement centre, Ben Tapuai, while Kerevi as a decoy ran an inside line that committed Lions centre Harold Vorster. In the tackle, Tapuai threw a perfect inside ball to Cooper, who took advantage of the substantial gap outside Vorster. The play ended close to the Lions line and, in the next phase, Kerevi bounded over. This was smart football - something lacking from the Reds all season, and something supporters, so sick of collapsed scrums, lineout blunders and jittery referees, are begging to see.

Not surprising James O'Connor, now on the wing, regularly gravitated towards Cooper during their first game together in Reds colours, in the hope of securing similar try-scoring passes. Through time, their combination can only improve and give the withering Red Army of Queensland fans one good, solid reason to believe the trek to Suncorp Stadium is still worth negotiating.

Quade Cooper showed spirit and frustration in equal measure against the Lions © Getty Images

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