Ben Tune made a fairytale comeback to give Queensland a welcome break from its Super 12 miseries against South Africa's Sharks on Saturday night.

Tune scored one try, set up two others and was a constant menace to the visitors in his first start in two years as the Reds triumphed 30-25 at Ballymore.

His man-of-the-match performance propelled Queensland to its second tense win of 2005 and saved it from the indignity of last place on the table after nine rounds.

It also eases the pressure on coach Jeff Miller who has been besieged by critics over poor results, ugly play and the growing number of players defecting to the new Western Force franchise in Perth.

As bad as the year has been on the field and off it - with Miller believing he has been undermined by former Queensland coach John Connolly and a high-profile media and rugby figure in Sydney - Tune's feel-good return made the Reds momentarily forget their torment.

He put an injury-riddled two years of struggle and frustration following three knee reconstructions behind him in just 12 minutes.

Tune brought the small crowd of 12,274 loyal diehards to their feet when he raced 35m to score under the posts in front of the Ballymore hill.

He finished the try set up by a powerful Junior Pelesasa bust with old-time pace and his trademark aquaplane slide.

It wasn't just the eye-catching try that rewarded Queensland for its faith in 28-year-old Tune.

He also showed the composure and sure hands expected of a 46-Test veteran to send Drew Mitchell over in 56th minute and laid the groundwork for a David Croft try seven minutes later for a 30-22 lead.

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