NRL Preliminary Final weekend delivered in spades, courtesy of an absorbing Friday night battle in Melbourne and an unforgettable, dynasty-halting barnburner in Brisbane.
The Storm and Broncos will battle it out for the Provan-Summons Trophy on Sunday night after navigating the week off and halting the September momentum of the Sharks and Panthers, respectively.
Cometh the hour
For 75 minutes, Penrith expertly shut down Brisbane dangerman Reece Walsh – cutting down his time with the ball, sweating on his passes and suffocating his support runners on both edges.
After racking up six tries and eight try assists on the Broncos’ five-match winning streak – and almost singlehandedly getting them over the line in an astonishing qualifying final performance in Canberra – Walsh looked destined to fail to make an impression on the preliminary final scoreboard.
The mercurial fullback’s involvement on attack became less frequent, with diminishing returns despite the Broncos courageously clawing back from a 14-0 halftime scoreline to 14-10.
Thumping a simple conversion attempt into the upright seemed to further suggest it wasn’t to be Walsh’s day.
Then with four minutes on the clock and the Panthers’ defence looking comfortable, the wiry Walsh slipped a couple of tackles and fashioned a pass over Brian To’o to an unmarked Deine Mariner, who speared through the Panthers’ cover to level the scores.
Adam Reynolds, who hadn’t lined up a shot in six weeks, buried an instantly famous conversion from the sidelines for a 16-14 triumph to put the Broncos into their second Grand Final in three years.
It’s likely more big-time plays will be need from Walsh against the Storm to break the Broncos’ 19-year title drought, but he’s at the pointy end of the Clive Churchill Medal market at $7.
Panthers juggernaut runs out of steam
With four straight premierships, five consecutive Grand Finals and 14 finals victories on the trot behind them, Penrith were apparently destined to sign off on another chapter in the tale of the greatest rugby league team this side of St George’s mythical run of 11 titles in a row.
At 14-0 ahead and in full control at a heaving Suncorp Stadium, the Panthers never looked in danger of being run down…until they were.
There was an ounce of luck in the Broncos’ two tries that cut the deficit to four points, but letting in Deine Mariner’s match-winner in the championship minutes was jarringly un-Penrith-like.
And with the scene set for some game-saving majesty from Nathan Cleary, the Panthers were caught in two minds on their last throw of the dice – forgoing the set up of a two-point field goal attempt, then abandoning a drive for a last-gasp try.
Cleary’s last-moment plan change to backpedal beyond the 40-metre line, only to be forced into passing off to Dylan Edwards for a futile field goal attempt, was such an incongruous way for the Panthers’ streak to end.
But after farewelling another couple of key premiership-winning stars in the off-season and sitting last on the ladder at the end of Round 12, the Panthers’ revival to qualify for the finals and go within an ace of another decider from seventh nevertheless stands as another herculean feat in this dynasty.
Storm spine shines
Melbourne’s all-superstar spine quartet lit the path to the club’s 11th Grand Final in 20 seasons – and will be the key to converting that extraordinary consistency into a fourth premiership in its post-salary cap scandal era.
Just 22 days after suffering a broken arm, halfback Jahrome Hughes produced a blistering solo try to put the Storm on course for a hard-earned 22-14 preliminary final win over Cronulla.
Cameron Munster, one of the modern era’s elite big-game players, was in everything with a try assist and a team-high 193 running metres, while Ryan Papenhuyzen’s return from another short-term injury layoff was dynamic.
Harry Grant provided a timely reminder as to who the game’s best hooker is, outpointing No.9-of-the-moment Blayke Brailey.
The presence of the incomparable foursome and the stability they provide see the Storm installed as $1.70 grand final favourites.
They seem better equipped to handle the cauldron of the decider than the equally brilliant, but somewhat flightier, Broncos combination of Walsh, Mam, Reynolds and Hunt.
Munster ($6.00) and Grant ($7.00) head early Clive Churchill Medal betting along with Broncos duo Walsh ($7.00) and Payne Haas ($7.50), followed by Hughes ($8.00) and 2020 recipient Papenhuyzen ($15).
Plucky Sharks still a star short
Cronulla largely answered its critics this September, backing up a 7-1 finish to the regular season with stirring sudden-death upsets of Sydney Roosters and Canberra with dominant defensive displays.
The 22-14 loss to Melbourne featured no shortage of fighting spirit.
The Sharks valiantly stayed in a contest that threatened to get away from them on several occasions, forcing the Storm to keep grinding until the dying minutes.
Yet the Sharks never quite looked capable of pulling off a boilover result.
Craig Fitzgibbon has moulded a well-rounded squad – underpinned by a powerhouse pack and ample strike out wide – but hovering on the fringe of the top four and jagging Preliminary Final appearances is seemingly the Sharks’ ceiling with their current spine set-up.
Fullback Will Kennedy has been a tremendous servant but remains off-contract for 2026, while Braydon Trindall enjoyed another strong finals series and Blayke Brailey is nearing elite hooker status.
The onus again falls on million-dollar halfback Nicho Hynes, who had some big moments in Canberra but struggled to impose himself regularly enough in Melbourne.
A bold roster move is likely to be required to elevate Cronulla from second-tier contender status.
Madge of honour
Michael Maguire’s renaissance over the past two years rates among the great rugby league coaching narratives of recent years.
The 2014 premiership-winning coach’s tenure at South Sydney ended miserably, while a fruitless four-season stay with Wests Tigers brought his hardline methods under further scrutiny.
But after leading New Zealand to a record-shattering Pacific Championships victory over Australia in 2023 and guiding NSW to an emphatic Origin series triumph at his first attempt in 2024, ‘Madge’ has made a triumphant return to club-land coaching.
It hasn’t been without its hurdles – there were rumblings during an early-season slump that he was working the Broncos too hard and some stars were disgruntled – but he has snapped a personal 10-year absence from the playoffs and has now taken a 2024 also-ran to a Grand Final.
Matching wits with former mentor Craig Bellamy this Sunday, Maguire can join the illustrious company of pre-war legends Arthur ‘Pony’ Holloway and Jim Craig, and Jack Gibson, Phil Gould, Chris Anderson, Tim Sheens and Wayne Bennett as the only men to coach multiple clubs to premiership glory.