The Queensland Reds have defeated the Western Force 29-12 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane tonight.

The home side scored three tries to nil with Leroy Houston, Morgan Turinui and Andrew Walker all touching down for the hosts.

Clinton Schifcofske slotted a conversion and three penalties while Berrick Barnes also converted on try.

The Force's points came courtesy of fullback Cameron Shepherd who kicked four penalties.

Despite having the majority of possession in the first half, the WA side went into the half time break trailing 13-12 thanks mainly to a converted try from Houston who went over in only the second minute.

But the Reds had an anxious wait as the Television Match Official analysed the driving maul that led to the score. Schifcofske added the extras.

Shepherd and Schifcofske traded three penalties for the score to be 10-6 midway through the half when the Reds goalkicker was yellow-carded for an infringement at a ruck.

The Force closed the gap by kicking the resulting penalty but Barnes cancelled that score out with one of his own in Shifcofske's absence.

A further penalty from Shepherd closed the deficit to one point as the teams headed into the break.

The second half belonged entirely to the Reds, who kept their opponents scoreless and added two further tries through Turinui and Walker both of which were converted by Schifcofske.

The victory was the Reds' first against one of their Australian rivals in two years and all but ends the Force's hopes of claiming a play-off berth.

Reds coach Phil Mooney said his side were lifted by their strong defensive showing.

"We went into halftime feeling they couldn't score a try with the mountain of possession they had and that boosted our confidence," Mooney said. "I don't think we've been given the respect we deserve."

Western Force captain Nathan Sharpe reflected on his side's worst performance of the season, commenting, "It was a terrible performance by our boys but we have to give credit to Queensland. They contested the breakdown much harder," he said. "There was no excuse. We just didn't turn up mentally."

The Reds will look to continue their resurgence against the Chiefs next weekend while the Force have a bye to pick through the pieces of this loss before resuming their campaign against the same New Zealand opposition.

Reds (13) 29
Tries: Houston, Turinui, Walker
Con: Schifcofske
Pen: Schifcofske (3), Barnes

Western Force (12) 12
Pen: Shepherd (4)

Reds: Clinton Schifcofske, Brando Va'aulu, Morgan Turinui, Berrick Barnes, Peter Hynes, Quade Cooper, Ben Lucas, Leroy Houston, David Croft, John Roe, James Horwill (captain), Van Humphries, Dayna Edwards, Stephen Moore, Ben Coutts. Reserves: Sean Hardman, Rodney Blake, Ed O'Donoghue, Poutasi Luafutu, Will Genia, Andrew Walker, Charlie Fetoai.

Force: Cameron Shepherd, Haig Sare, Ryan Cross, Scott Staniforth, Drew Mitchell, Lachlan Mackay, Chris O'Young, Richard Brown, David Pocock, Scott Fava, Nathan Sharpe (captain), Tom Hockings, Troy Takiari, Tai McIsaac, Pek Cowan. Reserves: Luke Holmes, AJ Whalley, Sam Wykes, Tamaiti Horua, James Stannard, James O'Connor, Nick Cummins.