On Thursday I posited the notion that Brisbane was poised to become the sporting capital of Australia if the Brisbane Broncos could win the weekend’s rugby league premierships. A bit over the top perhaps, but it’s not too much of a stretch to say that the Broncos’ dual wins in the NRL and the NRLW makes Brisbane the rugby league capital of Australia. Throw in this year’s win in State of Origin and Queensland become ‘rugby league central’ in Australia. Add the Lions’ win in the AFL and perhaps Brisbane is the football capital of Australia! Tomorrow the world!
NRL
I’m writing this about 9 hours after the game. A range of thoughts swirl in my head. They’ll take a day or two to settle. Perhaps I’ll have something more coherent to say by Thursday. Here are a few ‘off the top of the head’, not in any order of importance reactions:
Who would have dreamed that Brisbane’s next NRL title would come with NSW men Maguire and Barrett as their coaches? Maguire certainly knows how to win, and his old fashioned hard work and disciplined approach shows that not much has changed in coaching over the years.
Adam Reynold’s ‘ice in the veins’ conversion against Penrith last week was what he was bought/brought to Brisbane to do – get them back into the Grand Final. He’s paid his dues. With yet another leg injury, is now the time for the veteran to hang up the boots? There’s nothing more to prove.
I feel for Kevin Walters – essentially the same ‘cattle’ he coached two years ago have now gone that one step better. A bit of extra starch was, perhaps, the missing ingredient.
I feel for Billy Walters – his late season form in tandem with Ben Hunt in the halves resurrected the Broncos’ season and got them into the top four. Than a cruel injury. But did you see Ben Hunt go to Billy after the game? Lovely stuff!
I feel for Ben Hunt – elation that what he came ‘home’ to do has now been achieved; a touch of sadness that he wasn’t on the field to the very end – you could lipread his frustration as he came off the field due to a head knock. Regardless, he has his redemption.
Reece Walsh will add an extra zero or two to his contract but let’s not get ahead of ourselves in evaluating him just yet. He still has more than a bit to learn about positional play in defence; he now has to become more consistent, even better, over a period of several years, otherwise he’s just another meteor that mesmerises us momentarily before fading from the skies. But what a talent! He’s the NRL’s marketing tool for the next few years.
Pat Carrigan is a star! Talk about effort plus from go to whoa. He should be one of the first picked in today’s Kangaroo squad.
I would have been happy to see Deine Mariner get the Churchill Medal. I thought he was close to faultless, and certainly the standout winger on the field.
Haas put in another mighty second half when he ran on to the ball more and powered straight ahead. His short stint in the first half was possibly because he was a still bit gassed from last week. But when the time came, he delivered.
Ezra Mam was a potent force off the bench with his speed, elusiveness and aggressive intent. In the future, is a burst off the bench or a No. 6?
On the back foot in the first half, the Broncos pack asserted itself in the second half – they’re not household names (yet) but they did a Bellamy on Bellamy: with top coaching, those who might otherwise have been mere journeymen now wear a premiership ring. Take a bow.
On the other side of the paddock:
Top marks to Papenhuyzen who posed the biggest threat to the Broncos when Melbourne were in attack, and was always in the right spot in defence. (Walsh could learn a bit of the latter from Paps.)
Munster was very well blanketed in attack but put in a great effort in defence.
Harry hardly ran at all from dummy half. In fact, did he run at all? But another pile of tackles, as always.
What happened to their forwards after halftime? They controlled the game for the first 40 minutes – eating up easy metres in attack, and their speed off the line in defence suffocated their opposing pack.
With the game slipping away at the end, Melbourne, very uncharacteristically, blew several opportunities to snatch the game from Brisbane – errant passes, poor last tackle options, lack of structure. Very un-Melbourne.
Hughes is great when his forwards are winning; but he’s also one of the best No. 7s around when his pack is on the back foot – still looking to be positive and attacking. Throw in a bad arm and you have to hand it to him, he had a great game.
It may have been another Grand Final loss, but Bellamy keeps getting them there. Expect them back again next year.
What’s the missing link in the Storm line-up? With all due respect to Meaney and Howarth, I think it’s the lack of a bigger, powerful, hard-running centre. Remember the Greg Inglis and Justin Olam type?
NRLW
We got the game we expected and deserved. Arguably the best NRLW Grand Final to date – unsurprising given the talent on the paddock – and certainly the most physical I can recall. I said in my preview that I thought Brisbane might be peaking at the right moment. Their clinical first half suggested just that – they were in control for most of that time and took their chances to lead almost comfortably at the break. The opening Upton try was classic in its simplicity and execution – if you’re good enough to do it against a top defensive line.
But the Roosters hadn’t won 18 on the trot for nothing. Their second half riposte was stunning and it looked like they might even run away with it. But footy is fickle and momentum swings on a bounce here, a missed tackle there. And, let’s face it, the Roosters missed a lot of tackles all afternoon. Brisbane got a second wind that I don’t think the Roosters had in them. The winning Hufanga try? I thought she got the ball down in the initial lunge – just a faint kiss of the turf but a touch nevertheless; the second lunge was, I think, held up but by then it was a moot point. The bullocking centre had her best game ever and was a deserving Murphy Medal winner. Such an incident at a key point at least gives the hacks something to confect into a controversy. Look at the video closely, team!
Brisbane Broncos
Kings and Queens of the rugby league world 2025! In a one-team town the noise this week will be huge! The only question is: will Madge Maguire be awarded honorary Queensland citizenship?
Image: en.wikipedia.com
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About Ian Hauser
A relaxed, Noosa-based retiree with a (very) modest sporting CV. A loyal Queenslander, especially when it comes to cricket and rugby league. Enjoys travel, coffee and cake, reading, and has been known to appreciate a glass or three of wine. One of Footy Almanac's online editors who enjoys the occasional editing opportunity to assist aspiring writers.
great summary, Ian
quite a time for the city of Brisbane!
Agree with the ‘hold the phone’ evaluation of Walsh. He was hugely influential in the GF, obviously.
However, the shoulder charges, and some of the other stuff (leading to some calling him a protected species) needs to be dealt with …
Happy rugby league