Brisbane have been handed their heaviest ever NRL defeat after a 56-0 thrashing by Canberra on Saturday.

The loss eclipsed 46-point defeats to Melbourne in 2005 and Parramatta in 2007 as the Broncos' worst and cast serious doubts over the club's finals hopes.

The Raiders were merciless at Canberra Stadium, running in 10 tries to none as they piled on 40 unanswered points in the second half.

Brisbane have now lost three straight matches and their proud record of making finals for the past 17 seasons seems under threat.

Canberra had the visitors on the backfoot from the outset, crossing for two tries in the first 10 minutes.

Raiders centre Joel Monaghan score in just the third minute, followed by another four-pointer to fullback Josh Dugan five minutes later.

A third try to Phil Graham, the first of his four for the night, ensured the Raiders held a 16-0 lead at the break.

But rather than fight their way back in, the Broncos were never in the contest as the Raiders piled on seven tries in the second half, including three more to Graham.

A switch by Broncos coach Ivan Henjak to move AFL defector Karmichael Hunt from fullback to halfback failed to spark the Brisbane attack.

While the Raiders made easy yards, particularly down the right side through Monaghan, the Broncos were never dangerous with the ball, making just two line breaks for the game.

The Broncos have now conceded more than 300 points in their past eight outings.

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