A last-gasp Quade Cooper penalty has snatched a 16-15 Super Rugby victory for Queensland Reds over the Brumbies on a foggy Friday night at Suncorp Stadium.

The Brumbies were on course for a regulation win after a second-half penalty try and a five-pointer from Kyle Godwin four minutes later, put them 15-6 ahead.

But the Reds, seeking a fairytale finish for stalwart Rob Simmons in his last home game, piled on 10 points in the last nine minutes in a boilover.

They closed to within two points with Hamish Stewart's 72nd minute try and a Cooper conversion and continued to rally, eventually finding the penalty they were hunting for in the final minute.

Andrew Smith was pinged for not rolling away by referee Brendon Pickerill as winger Izaia Perese charged towards the Brumbies defence.

Cooper made no mistake with his kick from in front, sparking wild celebrations among the 13,264 who braved a cold, dreary evening in Brisbane.

Cooper booted two penalties in the first half, giving the hosts a 6-3 lead at the break.

The mercurial playmaker Cooper's heroics with the boot absolved him after he was culpable for letting the Brumbies skip out in front.

Cooper was tackled in the tryzone by Tom Banks but didn't ground the ball, inviting Godwin to pounce on it when it eventually fell loose for an easy try in the 55th minute.

It came shortly after George Smith was yellow-carded for collapsing a Brumbies rolling maul -- the 14th time a Reds player has been sent to the sin bin this season -- which resulted in the Brumbies' penalty try.

The Brumbies should have scored the game's first try in the 20th minute but winger Aiden Toua knocked on as he chased a ball that had been soccered down the field.

That moment was emblematic of a horrific first half from both sides, although they weren't helped by the eerie conditions.

A haze of fog enveloped the stadium around around kick-off time, thickening throughout the course of the match and making it genuinely difficult for those in attendance to see across the field.