Broncos brooding over collapse in grand final
Brisbane Broncos players have spoken of using the gut-wrenching emotions of losing last year’s NRL grand final to go one better this season — but that is easier said than done.
The 26-24 loss to the Penrith Panthers in 2023 came after they gave up an NRL-record 16-point lead in a decider.
In the 2015 grand final, the Broncos led against the North Queensland Cowboys with one second remaining in normal time, only to lose 17-16 in golden point after extra time.
None of the players in that Brisbane side have played in an NRL grand final since and several remained haunted by it for years.
In 2018, former Broncos No 6 Anthony Milford was asked if he thought about the heartbreaking loss. “Always, mate, always,” he said. “I am still filthy about that game. There are heaps of things I could have, should have . . . I don’t know if I can let it go. I try to, but it just keeps coming back.”
Last year in the week leading into the grand final, former Broncos prop Jarrod Wallace, now with Milford at the Dolphins, reflected on the loss.
“I was haunted by it for a long time. There were lots of sleepless nights,” he said.
Broncos squad member Corey Oates is the last survivor of the 2015 grand final left at the club.
He was left sprawled on the turf when North Queensland’s Kyle Feldt scored a last-ditch try to take the decider into golden point.
Late last year, Oates said playing in, and winning, a premiership decider, still drove him.
“It has been a long time since that [2015] grand final,” he said.
“You always look at that stuff and say, ‘what if ?’ But you have to get back there to give yourself another chance.”
Oates was left out of Brisbane’s grand final side in 2023 and didn’t get the opportunity to return to the biggest stage.
This week, Broncos No 1 Reece Walsh referred to last year’s loss as “an open wound” that would serve as inspiration to go one better this year.
The players have reviewed the last 20 minutes of the grand final where they collapsed.
“It was gut-wrenching. I have never felt heartbreak like that before,” second-rower Jordan Riki said.
“It was genuinely one of those things where you half felt sick. For us to sit down as a team, I thought it was a healing session for us.
“In that last 20 minutes, we went away from Broncos-style footy, which is exciting footy and turning up for each other in defence, but we are willing to do whatever it takes to get back there.
“The end of last year still kills us and we have still got that burning fire. We want to prove a point.”
Broncos legend Steve Renouf won all four grand finals he played in with the club and has no doubt the side can bounce back in 2024, starting with the first-round clash with Sydney Roosters in Las Vegas.
“If they can get a win in the first game that can wipe away the memory of the grand final, they’ll get on with the season,” Renouf said.
“I am very confident the Broncos will make the top four again. They learned how to win semifinals last year. When they get back on the big stage they can draw on that.
“We should have won in 2015 and 2023. I was at both grand finals and it was shattering, but I only see positives going forward for this team.”