South Sydney coach Michael Maguire says the return of five-eighth Luke Keary and hooker Issac Luke will not be a panacea for his side’s woes.

Maguire was seen apparently tearing strips off his side in the sheds following their 32-18 NRL loss to Canterbury last Friday night.

Luke and Keary missed the clash because of suspensions and Maguire admitted his side strayed from their game plan against the Dogs.

However he said the return of their No.7 and No.9 would not provide an instant fix for Thursday’s top-four clash with Brisbane at Allianz Stadium.

“We had direction last weekend we just didn’t play the way we wanted,” said Maguire on Tuesday.

“Cam McInnes, Issac Luke and Luke Keary, they play off the back of our forward pack.”

Maguire said Brisbane remained the NRL benchmark despite slipping from top spot last week.

The Sydney Roosters jumped into first position with a 12-10 win over the Broncos on Saturday but Maguire said Wayne Bennett’s Broncos had been the most consistent team across 24 rounds.

“They’ve been the form team of the competition and they’ve shown that consistency,” Maguire said.

“We know we’re going to be playing against a team that plays for 80 minutes.

“You saw it against the Roosters, they compete right to the death and we’ve got to make sure we’re doing the same.”