![\"NRL\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Brisbane_Broncos_logo.svg_.png\"){kind=logo}
<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u2019s rugby league premierships. A bit over the top perhaps, but it\u2019s not too much of a stretch to say that the Broncos\u2019 dual wins in the NRL and the NRLW makes Brisbane the rugby league capital of Australia. Throw in this year\u2019s win in State of Origin and Queensland become \u2018rugby league central\u2019 in Australia. Add the Lions\u2019 win in the AFL and perhaps Brisbane is the football capital of Australia! Tomorrow the world!<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
NRL<\/p>\n
I\u2019m writing this about 9 hours after the game. A range of thoughts swirl in my head. They\u2019ll take a day or two to settle. Perhaps I\u2019ll have something more coherent to say by Thursday. Here are a few \u2018off the top of the head\u2019, not in any order of importance reactions:<\/p>\n
Who would have dreamed that Brisbane\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Adam Reynold\u2019s \u2018ice in the veins\u2019 conversion against Penrith last week was what he was bought\/brought to Brisbane to do \u2013 get them back into the Grand Final. He\u2019s paid his dues. With yet another leg injury, is now the time for the veteran to hang up the boots? There\u2019s nothing more to prove.<\/p>\n
I feel for Kevin Walters \u2013 essentially the same \u2018cattle\u2019 he coached two years ago have now gone that one step better. A bit of extra starch was, perhaps, the missing ingredient.<\/p>\n
I feel for Billy Walters \u2013 his late season form in tandem with Ben Hunt in the halves resurrected the Broncos\u2019 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!<\/p>\n
I feel for Ben Hunt \u2013 elation that what he came \u2018home\u2019 to do has now been achieved; a touch of sadness that he wasn\u2019t on the field to the very end \u2013 you could lipread his frustration as he came off the field due to a head knock. Regardless, he has his redemption.<\/p>\n
Reece Walsh will add an extra zero or two to his contract but let\u2019s 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\u2019s just another meteor that mesmerises us momentarily before fading from the skies. But what a talent! He\u2019s the NRL\u2019s marketing tool for the next few years.<\/p>\n
Pat Carrigan is a star! Talk about effort plus from go to whoa. He should be one of the first picked in today\u2019s Kangaroo squad.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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?<\/p>\n
On the back foot in the first half, the Broncos pack asserted itself in the second half \u2013 they\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the other side of the paddock:<\/p>\n
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.)<\/p>\n
Munster was very well blanketed in attack but put in a great effort in defence.<\/p>\n
Harry hardly ran at all from dummy half. In fact, did he run at all? But another pile of tackles, as always.<\/p>\n
What happened to their forwards after halftime? They controlled the game for the first 40 minutes \u2013 eating up easy metres in attack, and their speed off the line in defence suffocated their opposing pack.<\/p>\n
With the game slipping away at the end, Melbourne, very uncharacteristically, blew several opportunities to snatch the game from Brisbane \u2013 errant passes, poor last tackle options, lack of structure. Very un-Melbourne.<\/p>\n
Hughes is great when his forwards are winning; but he\u2019s also one of the best No. 7s around when his pack is on the back foot \u2013 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.<\/p>\n
It may have been another Grand Final loss, but Bellamy keeps getting them there. Expect them back again next year.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the missing link in the Storm line-up? With all due respect to Meaney and Howarth, I think it\u2019s the lack of a bigger, powerful, hard-running centre. Remember the Greg Inglis and Justin Olam type?<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
NRLW<\/p>\n
We got the game we expected and deserved. Arguably the best NRLW Grand Final to date \u2013 unsurprising given the talent on the paddock \u2013 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 \u2013 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 \u2013 if you\u2019re good enough to do it against a top defensive line.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the Roosters hadn\u2019t 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\u2019s face it, the Roosters missed a lot of tackles all afternoon. Brisbane got a second wind that I don\u2019t think the Roosters had in them. The winning Hufanga try? I thought she got the ball down in the initial lunge \u2013 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!<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Brisbane Broncos<\/p>\n
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?<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Image: en.wikipedia.com<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
To read our library of rugby league stories click HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n To return to our Footy Almanac home page click HERE.<\/a><\/p>\n To see the full 2025 season draw for the NRL click HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n To see the full 2025 season draw for the NRLW click HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n To see the details for State of Origin in 2025 click HERE.<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Our writers are independent contributors. The opinions expressed in their articles are their own. They are not the views, nor do they reflect the views, of Malarkey Publications.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Do you enjoy the Almanac concept?<\/p>\n And want to ensure it continues in its current form, and better? To help things keep ticking over please consider making your own contribution.<\/p>\n Become an Almanac (annual) member \u2013 CLICK HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1759701967_507_almanac-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1759701968_700_1586306567-bpfull.jpg&w=100&id=3599&random=1656298606.jpeg\")
About