Before last Sunday’s Brisbane-Penrith preliminary final had begun, the realistic season-long hopes of Canberra, Canterbury and Cronulla fans had already been expunged.
It was going to be Melbourne, Brisbane and Penrith again fighting for the premiership. With the inclusion of the Roosters, each of the last 10 grand finals has involved at least one of these great clubs.
Still, I think most people were happy for the Broncos to win and in the fashion that they did.
The prospect of the Panthers going onto achieve a five peat was just too much to bear for supporters of teams comprising mere mortals. And the aesthetes of attacking football wanted redemption for the last time these teams met in a final.
Not long after halftime in the 2023 grand final, Ezra Mam – with the exhilarating assistance of Reece Walsh – looked to have finally put the monolithic Penrith to bed. It would have changed history dramatically, stopping their reign at back to back titles.
Three shots in ten minutes down the Panthers right side; that’s right, the side of Nathan Cleary, Liam Martin and Brian To’o. Cleary was made to eat grass by Mam and shortly afterwards was humiliated by a magnificent vertical leap and explosive left foot step from Walsh.
Then with Jarome Luai removed permanently and the spiritual leader Isaah Yeo concussed and on his haunches, it was perfectly set up for Brisbane.
So what the hell happened?
Just keep stabbing the Panthers’ right side. But no, they hardly went that way again….and Mam, the devilish sidestep and acceleration maestro, suddenly and inexplicably became a plodding hand-over merchant.
Walsh remained a potent attacking weapon right up to the final minute of the match but – as is his nature – was highly sensitive and chaotic in defence; a weakness that Cleary exploited leading eventually to the match winning try.
They let themselves become deers in the headlights of Cleary and Stephen Chricton who slowly and meticulously destroyed them.
The unresolved trauma of the 2015 grand final loss was relived and topped up.
They have since lost Herbie Farnsworth, Thomas Flegler and Kurt Capewell but there is a sense that this year’s squad, trained into the ground and until they vomited by a former Craig Bellamy apprentice, has added desperate defense and mental toughness to their attacking zeal.
They have become the real deal.
What won the Broncos this preliminary final was not electrifying line breaks – Walsh threatened several times but wasn’t able to get completely through, and Mam coming off the interchange with his bandaged hamstring doesn’t look capable yet of repeating his 2023 feats – but rather defence on their line. The Panthers had several shots late to seal it but this time around an evidently frustrated Cleary ran into walls or was forced sideways.
The Bulldogs, for all the good it did in their semi final, showed that the way through the Panthers imposing defensive line is via the left edge of youngsters Blaize Talagi and Casey McLean.
So, with the Panthers just four minutes from a 6th consecutive grand final, Walsh goes through their five eighth and centre losing both Talagi and second rower Luke Garner who slide off. Then, with McLean around his legs and Brad Schneider on his back, he lobs a wide bouncing offload to Deine Mariner alone on his wing who then somehow beats Brian To’o, Dylan Edwards and Lindsay Smith for what turns out to be the match winning try.
Another factor is the presence of Ben Hunt. He wasn’t there in 2023 but I’m sure he will want to expunge the horrific memory of the 2015 decider by winning on Sunday. He gave away a late penalty in that game and turned the ball over just prior to the Cowboys’ Kyle Feldt scoring the famous equalising try as the final siren was sounding. And one of the most iconic images from that extraordinary game – second probably to the one that followed shortly afterwards, of Jonathon Thurston celebrating his victorious drop goal – is the one of Hunt bowed and on his haunches knowing he has cost his team the premiership after dropping cold the golden point kick off.
As an intrigued Storm supporter waiting to find out who was going to be our grand final opponent, I was barracking for the Broncos because the Panthers were looking ominous in the lead-up.
But now I’m thinking Penrith might have been the easier opponent. They looked tired and perhaps spent from their methodical climb up the ladder and extra game; a suspicion shared by Ivan Cleary in his post match interview.
Of course, Brisbane looked out on their feet too. They had already experienced the marathon thriller in Canberra, a brutal qualifier that destroyed the Raiders.
With the inclusion of Patrick Carrigan the Broncos will be near full strength on Sunday.
The only question is: did they just play their grand final? The players and crowd certainly celebrated as if they did. And good on them.
They have now survived two of the toughest finals games ever played.
Do they have another one in them?
Published in The Roar
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