I set out from base camp at around 6.15 pm to take my seat for the Grand Final, high in the stands at Accor Stadium. My sherpa escorted me to my seat and assured me I would not need oxygen, unlike the elderly gentleman who was being helped out of the stadium by the medicos a few rows behind me. It did, however, afford me a great view of all the events unfolding on the field. My recollections seemed to marry up with the other members of my touring party as we reassembled at Arties Bar at the Eastern Suburb’s Leagues Club at Bondi Junction after the match. It did occur to me that it would have been a nice gesture if ‘Prop’ and ‘The Crabman’ had at least removed their corporate accreditation before meeting up with their altitude weary colleague. After all I have done in recent weeks promoting the ‘Prop’ as a swashbuckling, roving Rugby League ambassador! Alas, that is not how our touring party operates.
Speaking of great heights, what a game! Probably not the greatest ever GF, but well up the rankings. In my 13 grand final appearances as a spectator, I would rate it as the most entertaining GF I have seen. Yes, there was plenty of drama but, in the end, not of the 1989, 2015 or 2023 variety. Mind you, it very nearly did pan out that way. It did not, thanks to that man Reece Walsh.
I have watched Reece play since he was a young boy, 8 or 9 years old. A crafty hooker at first, always the best player, cocky and confident. Through the underage Queensland teams, first as a predominantly left-sided five-eighth, before landing in his current position as a fullback. He looked as close as you can to a future NRL player. So good, in fact, that in 2020, the first COVID year, Reece went into lockdown with the Broncos and did not play any Rugby League for Keebra Park in his final year of school. How Keebra would have loved that! Could anybody predict what Reece was about to do on Sunday night? I don’t think so. It would be brave to predict that any player could have such a game, up there with the best Grand Final performances of all time.
I don’t think readers need me to rehash all the events of the game, but a couple of vital moments towards the end involving the two fullbacks are worthy of special mention. Firstly, nobody catches Papenhuyzen running away for a game-changing try – except Reece Walsh. Forcing Papenhuyzen to push the pass on the first tackle was game saver number one. In the last minute, Walsh guessed correctly to tackle Papenhuyzen again. That was the match winning moment right there for the Storm, but Reece foiled it again. Add in the brilliant try along with all the try assists and the Clive Churchill medal was about as clear cut as you will ever see.
Congratulations to the Broncos. The Arties Bar consensus was that the Broncos deserved to win.
A few special mentions:
Ben Hunt: Who would begrudge him a winning GF moment? No one, I would hope. What he went through in 2015 is more than any player should have to bear. I hope he was able to remember the winning moments.
Adam Reynolds: Not a great game in the 2023 decider and missed a game-tying kick in the 2021 Grand Final. He too had some demons to exorcise. He did so, although from the bench in the end.
Ezra Mam: A very difficult season for him, but a real difference maker with his speed and footwork. Well done, young man. You made a bad mistake but owned it. It is time for everyone to move on. Walsh plus Mam equals trouble for the opposition.
Payne Haas: Going as strongly at the end of the season as he was at the start. His loyalty to the Broncos has paid off. It is always good to see loyalty rewarded.
Brendan Piakura: Same age as Reece, played in all the same Qld underage teams and Australian Schoolboys team, and looked a great NRL prospect. He has had a difficult time in the NRL with concussions, suspensions and things have not fallen his way. He could be an Origin player soon if luck goes his way for a change.
Corey Paix, Tyson Smoothy, Billy Walters and Blake Mozer: I cannot imagine what it would be like living in a harem and trying to become the favourite wife of the King. Four hookers in the top 30 is a difficult dynamic to handle. Well done to Paix and Smoothy for hanging in there and getting the rewards. The last two were injured and out of contention for the GF. Unfortunately, that is the brutal sport of Rugby League. Hopefully, Billy and Blake will get their chance soon.
Reece Walsh: I have cast some doubts on him in recent weeks. You silenced every critic, including me. Outstanding!
Madge McGuire: He is last on the list because I did not want the winning NSW Origin coach to come to town, win a premiership and look like a genius. Bitter old man logic, I know. But he did and he does. So, hats off to you, mate.
Can the NRL get any better than 2025? It is hard to imagine. I think it is about 146 days to the season opener in Las Vegas. I am confident the game can rise to even greater heights next year.
Bring it on!
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Prospector, it sounds like there are ‘ranks’ within the entourage! What’s with Prop and Crabman having corporate accreditation? Where did MahJong Hand get consigned to in the stadium? Whatever happened to ‘all’s fair in love, war and footy tickets’? An off-season inquiry might be in order.
But, seriously, thanks for the background on Reece Walsh as a youngster. (He’s now officially known on the Almanac as TMW, That Man Walsh, after the designation was applied by Purple Haze.) And, on watching the replay, Piakura had a huge game, as you rightly point out. He’s been thereabouts for a couple seasons, perhaps this is his career-defining game.
Hats off to Riki also. Not quite so obvious in the run of play but effective overall and especially when asked to play out of position, and he played the whole 80 minutes.
“If the house is a rockin’, don’t bother knockin’, just step right in.” That about sums up Grand Final Day in Brisbane. What an epic feast of footy.
As the self-appointed President of the Hamilton branch of the Broncos Fan Club, I can confidently report that the Footy Gods were firmly on our side. To walk away with not one, but two premiership trophies — both women’s and men’s — is the sort of fairytale that even Disney would have struggled to script.
The ladies set the tone with a cracker of a contest, toppling the undefeated Roosters in a brutal yet brilliant display of grit and class. Every tackle rattled the bones, every play screamed belief. It was the sort of game that will be spoken about in hushed, reverent tones for years to come.
And then, of course, there was Reece Walsh. Rocks or Diamonds, they say — but on Sunday he was all Diamonds, and not just any diamond: flawless, cut to perfection, and sparkling under the biggest spotlight of all.
For a bloke his size, the way he led from the front was nothing short of inspirational. His try was a masterclass in strength, class, and sheer bloody-minded determination.
And let’s not forget that promise. Three years ago he looked Adam Reynolds square in the eye and declared: “I’m coming back to win a premiership with you.” Yesterday, with confetti falling and silverware in hand, he delivered on every syllable.
It was a day for the ages, a day that stitched itself into the very fabric of Broncos folklore.