The 2023 NRL finals kicked off in blistering style, courtesy of two qualifying final blowouts that were nevertheless absorbing and dramatic, and a pair of elimination final barnburners.
Cronulla and Canberra were sent packing in heartbreakers, while Brisbane and Penrith booked preliminary final berths – leaving Melbourne and the Warriors to host sudden-death semis against streaking outfits Sydney Roosters and Newcastle next weekend.
Broncos-Panthers decider firms after qualifying masterclasses
It will take something special at the preliminary final stage to deny a grand final showdown between Brisbane and Penrith, who reaffirmed their top-two status with dominant qualifying final performances at home.
The Broncos laid a 14-match losing streak against Melbourne to rest in a 26-0 rout, complementing moments of customary brilliance on attack with tough and aggressive defence.
In the club’s first finals foray since heavy back-to-back elimination final losses in 2018-19, the Broncos looked anything but overawed in a grudge match that threatened to bubble over at several junctures.
Reece Walsh, making his post-season debut, was well-contained for the most part but exploded in the second half with a try and an assist for Jordan Riki in a vital four-minute burst.
The Panthers, meanwhile, kept their foot on the Warriors’ throat from go to whoa in a ruthlessly efficient 32-6 win, picking the fairytale team of 2023 apart on the edges with Nathan Cleary and Jack Cogger threatening constantly.
The Panthers retain title favouritism at $2.10 while the Broncos have been backed into $2.60, currently looking like the only teams capable of troubling one another.
It’s a cruel, cruel game
With the match already well out of reach at 20-0 and only 10 minutes remaining, Melbourne’s brutal night out at Suncorp Stadium descended into unmitigated disaster.
Xavier Coates, arguably the Storm’s best on the night, hobbled off with an ankle injury before the luckless Ryan Papenhuyzen left on a medicab with a broken ankle as rugby league’s collective heart shattered.
The savage injury blows overshadowed what was arguably the Storm’s worst-ever finals display. Sloppy and ill-disciplined, the visitors couldn’t shelve their preoccupation with the niggle for long enough to build any momentum.
Despite ample good-ball opportunities, they had few answers to the Broncos’ surging goal-line defence and only looked like scoring when Coates lost the ball over the line late in the first half.
The Storm will regroup with a home semi against the Roosters while sweating on Coates’ availability, while Marion Seve, Young Tonumaipea, Tom Eisenhuth and Trent Loiero all need to be cleared after suffering head knocks.
The Roosters will be with Joseph Suaalii (concussion), with Joey Manu (hamstring) also in doubt after leaving the field during the second of their win over the Sharks.
Johnson-shaped hole too big for Warriors to fill
The Warriors’ wonderful renaissance has been about much more than one player, but rarely has a single injury absence had as glaring an impact on a team’s fortunes on the finals stage as Shaun Johnson’s withdrawal from an already daunting assignment at Penrith.
With Dylan Walker and Te Maire Martin attempting to fill the linchpin breach, the Warriors’ kicking game was a mess and they appeared largely disjointed and aimless during their rare visits to the Panthers’ end of the field.
While there are few excuses for racking up 55 missed tackles and 14 errors, as well as getting routinely torn apart out on the fringes, the flow-on effects of SJ’s missing boot, in particular, were palpable.
If Johnson fails to recover from his calf complaint in time for Saturday’s blockbuster against Newcastle, coach Andrew Webster surely must roll the dice on handing the No.7 duties to Ronald Volkman, a quality kicker who racked up four try assists in the Warriors’ NSW Cup minor semi win on Saturday.
Meanwhile, centres Adam Pompey and Rocco Berry can expect another thorough examination opposite Dane Gagai and Bradman Best after a torrid afternoon at Penrith, with a section of the fanbase looking forward to Roger Tuivasa-Sheck alleviating their problem spot in 2024.
The Warriors have drifted to $13 in the premiership market.
Walker completes redemption for gutsy Roosters
Sydney Roosters had already worked a miracle to scrape into the finals with five straight wins, but their 13-12 eclipse of Cronulla on Saturday night has to rank among the club’s finest wins in their modern history.
Big names James Tedesco, Joey Manu, Victor Radley and Lindsay Collins all came up big for the Tricolours, who courageously stayed in the battle to overturn a six-point deficit in the last 15 minutes.
Rookie back-rower Siua Wong also delivered magnificently in just his 10th NRL game, capping a superb display with a match-levelling try.
But halfback Sam Walker was the hero, putting his shock axing earlier this season firmly behind him and recovering from a couple of forgettable first-half moments to lay on Manu’s try in the early in the second half and drill the winning field goal.
The Roosters are on the last line of title betting among the remaining six teams at $19 and opened as $3.35 outsiders to topple the Storm at home in Friday’s semi, but Trent Robinson’s charges are starting to look more like the gritty NRL heavyweights of yesteryear.
The Sharks’ defeat – their seventh in eight finals matches since winning the 2016 premiership – leaves Craig Fitzgibbon’s side at a crossroads. It has been an undeniably disappointing follow-up to their top-two finish last year with an unflattering flat-track bully label proving very difficult to shake.
Raiders go down swinging
Canberra limped into the finals sporting a historically poor for-and-against and with zero wins by more than 12 points all season, on top of a clutch of stars missing due to injury and suspension.
Expected to be cannon fodder for a rampaging Newcastle in Sunday elimination final, the Raiders instead produced one of the most gallant displays of any team in 2023 to take the Knights to extra-time in an instant classic.
The eventual 30-28 defeat could not detract from a memorable never-say-die performance.
Withstanding an early barrage to claw back to a stunning 16-6 halftime lead, the Raiders appeared set to be blown away as Kalyn Ponga exploded to steer the Knights to a commanding 28-16 advantage – and were lucky to have Jack Wighton on the field after an apparent nibble on Tyson Gamble’s arm.
Somehow, the Green Machine arrested the hosts’ irresistible momentum and conjured two late tries to send a finals match into extra-time for the first time in seven years.
The Raiders blew some chances in the pulsating added period and the Knights got home on a penalty goal, but Ricky Stuart’s valiant charges can take comfort from having played their part in one of the finest post-season games of the NRL era.