On his Bye Round podcast former St Helen’s and Canterbury prop Englishman James Graham asked Kevvie Walters about his thoughts on the 2023 grand final loss to Penrith. The Broncos coach replied: “Immediately I walked onto the ground after the game and Ivan came over and I just shook my head: ‘Mate you’ve got to be joking. How did you do that. How did you guys do that?!’ That’s what I said to him. He said: ‘Oh, I don’t know Kev’. And he just smiled…”.
The public comments attached to the interview gave varying answers from Reece Walsh can’t tackle, Adam Reynolds went missing, the Broncos went into their shell, to Nathan Cleary performing a solo master class.
Penrith’s victory was the greatest ever grand final comeback, surpassing Melbourne Storm’s magnificent second-half hunting down of St George Illawarra in 1999 (the subject of my next grand final summary).
For me, there are two defining images from the game.
The first is of Isaah Yeo – Penrith’s spiritual leader – on his haunches, concussed. Dazed, he’s looking at the video screen and about to be removed from the field for a HIA.
Jarome Luai has succumbed to his injured shoulder, and Brisbane is ahead 24-8 after a ten minute blitzkrieg of Penrith’s feared defensive line.
The game is nearly three quarters done and as good as over.
The break in play allows Penrith fans to appreciate why a three-peat is rare, and to honour their team for making four consecutive grand finals.
For Brisbane supporters it provides an opportunity to take in what has just happened; the realisation that the premiership has been secured and the sorrow of 2015 has been expunged.
For the aesthetes of attacking football it’s validation of their tastes; the ruthless defensive game of Penrith (inspired by and modeled on Craig Bellamy’s austere early teams) being finally dismantled by the free spirited party boys Ezra Mam and Reece Walsh.
Instead, the break proves Brisbane’s undoing.
It allows Penrith time to recover and reassess. Luai’s replacement Jack Cogger becomes first receiver to allow Nathan Cleary to perform his methodical magic.
Brisbane repeat the mistake of its 2015 forebear by attempting to protect the lead instead of continuing to attack a vulnerable opponent.
Immediately after the Yeo incident they receive a penalty and execute an attacking raid involving offloads by Walsh and Payne Haas. With three tackles up their sleeve Brisbane cross the 10 metre line through Herbie Farnworth who, with Penrith’s defensive line bunched, passes to forward Keenan Palasia who has space to the try line. The pass is too forceful and a little behind Palasia but the forward shows no real intent as he clearly thinks his is a dummy run. There are no support players as Adam Reynolds and Walsh have set themselves back for the next play. Farnworth’s pass hits open ground to be pounced on by Crichton and Penrith almost reach the half way mark on the 2nd tackle.
It proves to be the last orchestrated attacking run by Brisbane. Penrith will go on to score three tries. Brisbane won’t score again.
The second defining image of the match is that of Nathan Cleary about to plant the ball in what will prove to be the premiership winning try. In the background – on his knees and looking down – is Reece Walsh.
There are other significant figures in the contest: Broncos five-eighth Ezra Mam immediately after halftime and Panthers centre Stephen Crichton in the final 20 minutes.
But it was always going to come down to the actions of the two superstars, Nathan Cleary and Reece Walsh.
Completely different, equally mesmerising, Walsh and Cleary embody the nature of their respective teams.
Cleary has the calmness of a man who knows God is looking down, guiding him. He resembles a bird of prey searching for an ill timed movement. The jutting brow like the top of a bunker hiding the dark scheming eyes.
Referred to as ‘The Iceman’ in the match commentary, he shares the mindset – cerebral and almost emotionless – of Michael Fassbender’s clinical assassin in David Fincher’s brilliant film, The Killer: “It all comes down to preparation, attention to detail… keep calm, keep moving”.
In the afterword to his father Ivan’s recent autobiography Not Everything Counts But Everything Matters, he writes: “When we were down 24-8 against the Broncos in the 2023 grand final we still had the belief that – somehow – we could win. The work we had done on the mental side of our game meant we were always in the moment”.
One aspect of the mental game is learning the art of maintaining composure while suffering from fatigue. It hides the reality of your pain and vulnerability from opponents, and perhaps even from yourself.
In the same book, Ivan Cleary explains: “At Penrith, strong body language is something we pride ourselves on. Hands on hips are fine. Hands on your knees or head show your opponent you’re tired”.
At the 14th minute, Fox Sports’ Michael Ennis notes: “They’re out on their feet here, Brisbane. So much emotional build up… Billy Walters gasping for air.”
Walters, Kotoni Staggs and Jordan Riki have their hands on their knees. Thomas Flegler, unable to get back into the line, has his behind his head.
No doubt the Penrith players have noticed too and been encouraged by the sight
Despite being made a fool by a line breaking Mam and then Walsh, both of which result in tries, and again when Walsh threatens to score the match winner inside the final ten minutes, Cleary keeps his composure.
With the Panthers 8-24 you can imagine him thinking: “Two tries five minutes apart, and me scoring to win with a couple of minutes to go. Plenty of time”.
Reece Walsh is the Vaslav Nijinsky of the NRL (“I’m not an ordinary man. I’m a dancer. You will understand me when you see me dance.”).
He’s a creature at the whim of the spirits.
At definitive moments a light force within suddenly sets those luminous eyes ablaze. Made more mesmerising and nerve wracking for defenders by the long dark lashes, they glow with exhilaration as he leaps, fends, prances and pirouettes – effortlessly and magnificently – through the defensive line.
However, these scintillating runs come at a price. A sensitive soul in a body not entirely suited to the brutal business of rugby league, Walsh is prone to fatigue, mental lapses, niggling injuries and anxiety which he struggles to disguise.
Just three minutes into the contest Fox Sports’ Warren Smith notes: “Reece Walsh, nervous at the back of the scrum” following a crunching hip tackle by Liam Martin on Herbie Farnsworth which causes a knock-on and melee.
Walsh looks distracted and disorganised.
Commentator Billy Slater, the master of the full back defensive role, has his eye on Walsh throughout the game as he defends his line.
Shortly afterwards, as Brisbane repel Penrith, he cops a stray boot and is seen with the trainer grimacing and limping. Would Penrith fullback Dylan Edwards have shown he was was hurt?
In the 19th minute Penrith score the first try when Herbie Farnsworth taps the ball from Adam Reynold’s short line drop-out into open space only to be pounced on by Mitch Kenny who scores unopposed.
He is unopposed because Walsh, instead of standing on the line in front of the play as a fullback should, is wandering aimlessly, hands on hips, around the in-goal area. As the try is scored Broncos lock Patrick Carrigan casts a glance at Walsh but doesn’t say anything.
For most of the entertaining first half of the 2023 Grand Final it appeared all Penrith had to do for a third consecutive title was feed efficiently off Brisbane errors. Thomas Flegler’s 40th minute try changes things.
And then comes the exhilarating period immediately after halftime when Mam scores a hat-trick of tries in ten minutes.
These three occasions provide a rare sight: Penrith looking vulnerable.
Mam’s first line-break has him dissecting big man Lindsay Smith and Izack Tago and sprinting to the corner with Dylan Edwards closing rapidly. Unable to get hold of Mam as he plants the ball, the momentum sends the gallant Edwards slicing awkwardly through the sideline on his left arm until he becomes stationary and rights himself. Kneeling and out of breath he looks despondently across at the celebrating Broncos.
The replay of the third try – spawned by Walsh and therefore the most spectacular of the trio – is caught superbly by the front-on camera. Walsh performs a majestic vertical leap and on landing plants an explosive left foot on the advancing Cleary. For once, the Penrith halfback appears mesmerised by Walsh (those eyes, those thighs) and left humiliated on the turf.
The Broncos fullback has advanced fifteen metres before Cleary summons the will to turn and watch the try unfold. Walsh then puts a step on Liam Martin, who also hits the ground, and immediately fends off Tago. The Penrith centre, recovering from the shove, goes through the motions of a chase. When Walsh offloads to Mam, Sunia Turuva, arriving from the opposite wing, takes over the doomed pursuit.
In the slow motion replay of Mam’s run, the despondent faces of Yeo, Cleary, Martin and Edwards are clearly seen in the background before slowly moving out of focus as the Bronco five-eighth extends the distance.
The hat-trick is a result of line breaks, two from their own half, down their left side.
Inexplicably, they don’t attack that edge again. On the few occasions they do threaten in the final 20 minutes they come down their right side towards one of Penrith’s most lethal defenders, Stephen Crichton.
Up to the Moses Leota try in the 65th minute, Brisbane has committed nine errors to Penrith’s one and yet has six line breaks to none and scored four tries to one. They have discovered and exploited their strength and Penrith’s weakness.
This was the time to seal the match but at no point do they attempt to pressure the Panthers last line of defence, to force an error or line drop-out; unlike Crichton who executes three kicks close to the Broncos line, two of which prove decisive in the final match winning breach.
James Graham recently said that if you make an error against Penrith, it takes – given the game has not been taken out of your reach by then – ten sets to regain your equilibrium.
Penrith rarely make mistakes and misjudgments and usually punish other teams for theirs. As the second half progresses you sense that Brisbane are going to pay for their timidity in attack.
The first worrying sign for the Broncos comes at the 63rd minute when Brendan Piakura, freshly on the field, engages a slipping Luke Garner. Piakura fails to fully commit to the tackle and assuming, incorrectly, that it’s completed releases Garner who returns to his feet and continues his run with a disturbing lack of urgency both from Piakura and the other defenders.
In the next play Cleary dissects Kurt Capewell and Mam – replicating what the Broncos five-eighth did to he and Yeo – and offloads to Moses Leota for a free run to the try line.
On the third tackle of the next set Cleary kicks a 40-20 across to Selwyn Cobbo’s wing. The commentators suggest Cobbo is too slow to respond. Cooper Cronk on Fox Sports also mentions Walsh is not in the centre of the ground.
No try ensures for the Panthers but during the following promising set from the Broncos, lock Patrick Carrigan knocks on at the half way line after receiving an accidental head knock from James Fisher-Harris.
Almost immediately Penrith make Brisbane pay when Cleary sets up Crichton for a try.
It is, of course, significant. The game is about to enter the final ten minutes and Penrith have reduced the deficit to a mere unconverted try.
Michael Ennis trumpets: “If you thought this championship side was going to just roll over and let the Broncos take the premiership trophy across the border. No chance!”.
The try unfolds in a blink of an eye but there is a lot going on. The most obvious is the strength, technique, self belief, and sheer arrogance of the champion Penrith centre. But he is also the beneficiary of some good fortune and lapses from the Brisbane defenders.
When Kotoni Staggs engages, Crichton is already beside and outside him. Staggs, the shorter man has the ball carrier’s outstretched right arm holding him off, and is forced to reach up to strip the ball. Crichton easily wrenches the ball from his counterpart’s feeble grasp. Cobbo, who had been correctly marking Sunia Turuva on the outside, is forced to take over.
With Staggs dangling like a corpse at the end of his right arm Crichton’s presents the ball on a left hand platter for Cobbo who grabs it with both hands. At that moment Crichton’s right foot lands on Cobbo’s left and the body of Staggs slides underneath causing him to fall backwards taking the ball out of Cobbo’s reach. Walsh has arrived, too late and too fast to make substantial contact with the slipping figure and is propelled over the sideline.
Walsh’s reliance on his speed and propensity for leaping and overreaction can be liabilities for last line defence which requires a solid base and intense focus on the ball player.
As Crichton lands fully on the unfortunate Staggs, he rolls over and slams the ball down. Cobbo watches the grounding and mouths an obscenity.
The try brings a sense of the inevitable. Ten minutes left for the relentless Panthers to suffocate the life out of the gallant but fading Broncos.
Still, they defend their line desperately. Courageously and miraculously, Kobe Hetherington presents himself as a barricade to a Leota power drive for the try line, damaging himself in the process.
Staggs charges dramatically from his line to shut down Cleary. The usual result of such an action is a side step and line break, or an offload to a teammate into a yawning gap to the try line. Instead, the Bronco centre connects with perfect timing, positioning and power; the ball slamming into Cleary’s chest sending it hurtling 20 metres backwards.
In the 71st minute and on the second tackle Walsh produces another scintillating run from the back half sliding from the left to the right side beating a never ending line of defenders, and is tackled thirty five metres from Penrith’s line. Rather than exploiting the speed of play and the ruffled defence, Mam then simply lobs the ball to a stationary Capewell.
Since his line-breaking heroics and performances for the camera twenty minutes earlier, Mam – unlike Cogger – has shown little urgency or creativity.
Then, on the last tackle twenty metres out, Reynolds hands the ball to Piakura whose is immediately brought down.
With seventy two minutes gone, Crichton executes a grubbing kick intended for the in-goal area. Walsh is out of position and a little slow to react but retrieves it. He slides onto his back stopping just inches outside the try-line when he is struck in the back of the head by Turuva’s stray knee. He reacts in pain, likely expecting a penalty to ensure. Remember, there have been several accidental head knocks throughout the match that have not resulted in penalties. “The bunker OK with that?”, asks a doubtful Michael Ennis.
Walsh is grimacing, ball in one hand, his head in the other. I’m thinking: “Twist, turn over, scramble back, hold your ground. Do something … anything to avoid a line drop-out!”. Instead, he remains a passive target for a Crichton flop tackle whose impact propels him over the line.
At the 75th minute Reynolds kicks on the 4th despite there being plenty of time and space. Walsh is behind him and Piakura, Staggs and Cobbo are on his outside with a paddock in front and a staggered defensive edge in the distance.
Surely an attacking raid, or simply gaining further metres is preferable to presenting an easy ball to a rampaging Brian To’o on his thirty metre line.
There is just five minutes left and they are an unconverted try in front. The game should have been over long ago but they make errors of judgement and produce timid handovers.
Then in the 78th minute, the two superstars come together for the match defining play.
Walsh is at marker on Penrith’s tryline with tackler Jordan Riki. Scott Sorensen plays the ball to hooker Mitch Kenny who sends it to Cleary about six metres out. As the half back receives the ball Walsh has advanced five metres into play with Kenny and Sorensen between him and Cleary.
He has no reason to be there. The two Penrith forwards are marked by Carrigan and Payne Haas, and are obscuring his view of the play.
Again, he should be back near the tryline marking the ball player.
Rather than passing to Crichton which he has been doing throughout the last 20 minutes, the Penrith half back puts a left foot on the leaden-footed and fatigued Reynolds and accelerates past Walters. Riki, who is rushing across from marker, is unable to stop his sideways momentum and prevent Cleary sliding past him also.
It is only at this moment that Walsh responds, having to sprint back and across from behind Kenny and Sorensen to plant an ineffective arm on Cleary’s shoulder who shrugs it off and continues his run to ground the ball in front of the goal posts, ensuring a premiership winning conversion.
Even up to the final thirty seconds, Walsh is still the only man capable of snatching the premiership back as he accelerates through Cogger and Crichton. With the former around his feet and the latter on his back the maestro looks for support. As has been the story for the last twenty minutes for Brisbane none is forthcoming and he turns it over, sealing the fate of his team.
Crichton reacts by clenching his fists and screaming at the back of Walsh’s head; an illustration of the threat this exhilarating and flawed genius poses even for a side as good as Penrith.
Cleary rarely elicits such fiery responses from the opposition. And yet he proves the greater threat. Perhaps it comes down to what Andy Murray said when he was trying to explain what made him special: “My brain works differently to most people. Most people that get to the very, very top of anything are wired slightly differently”.
The basis of Penrith’s rise to greatness was the development of their vast number of juniors under Phil Gould’s watch.
But it took the trauma of the 2020 grand final loss to Melbourne to complete the foundation.
“Plenty of teams say they never watch a grand final. But in 2020 we wanted to learn from our defeat – and we did.”, states Ivan Cleary in his book. They go on to win four consecutive titles.
Kevvie Walters made his reluctant players watch their defeat for the same reason. They fail to make the finals in 2024 and Walters is sacked at the end of the season.
Published on The Roar
https://www.theroar.com.au/2025/06/07/when-it-really-matters-how-the-iceman-went-toe-to-toe-blow-for-blow-with-the-dancer-in-2023-nrl-decider/
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