On his knees with head in hand. A shattered Quade Cooper's reaction to his potential match-winning 30m field goal attempt being charged down on fulltime said it all on Friday night. Cynics could also say it represented the Queensland Reds' 2015 Super Rugby season following their gut-wrenching 18-17 loss to the Lions at Suncorp Stadium.

But it is what Cooper did next that gave credit to Reds coach Richard Graham's bold call that Queensland (1-5 record) could still make the finals. Cooper dusted himself off and began practicing field goals from the same position over and over as his heart-broken teammates trudged off.

It remains to be seen whether the Reds do the same and pick themselves off the canvas - but besieged coach Graham sounded like a believer.

"I still think that the semi-finals are achievable for us," Graham said ahead of a tough string of three away games including a two-match South African leg. "The more time we spend together in this next three weeks that we're away and playing, we as a team will be better for that."

Wallabies five-eighth Cooper (collarbone) was one of six players returning to the Reds line-up on Friday night - and it showed. Cooper was solid in his first game since the Wallabies' 2014 spring tour and James O'Connor showed flashes of brilliance on debut on the Reds wing.

Queensland also provided glimpses of their much discussed but seldom sighted new running game-plan in the lead-up to centre Samu Kerevi's 68th minute try that gave them a short-lived 17-15 lead. In the end, Queensland's lack of cohesion was exploited by dogged South African outfit the Lions (3-4) who sealed their third win in four games - all away.

However, skipper James Slipper agreed that the real Reds would emerge in the coming weeks as more returning players Liam Gill and Karmichael Hunt (suspension) gelled.

"We had a fair few players coming back and it took us a bit of time to adjust," Slipper said. "It's a step forward but in saying that it (18-17 result) is still really gutting."