NRL 2024: Brisbane Broncos demolished by Dolphins in Battle of Brisbane to all but end their finals hopes
Wayne Bennett and the Dolphins have left the Broncos needing a miracle to play finals football and Brisbane coach Kevin Walters struggling to explain the cause of the record defeat.
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A defiant Kevin Walters has vowed to continue fighting and will consider shaking up his roster as the Broncos face being bundled out of the 2024 NRL premiership race on Father’s Day.
Brisbane’s finals fate is resting in the hands of Newcastle after the Dolphins produced a 40-6 ambush to flog the Broncos in Saturday night’s Battle of Brisbane.
The 34-point ruthless Riverfire rout at Suncorp Stadium lifted the Dolphins into the top eight and put the Broncos in the brink of a finals fadeout with one round to play.
After going within a whisker of winning last year’s grand final, the Broncos are now on the cusp of falling out of play-offs contention.
If the Knights beat the Titans in Newcastle on Sunday, the Broncos will officially be out of finals contention.
That is because the Knights and Dolphins face each other on Sunday week, with the winner of that game to finish in eighth spot if Newcastle beats Gold Coast.
Walters had few answers when asked to describe how the Broncos succumbed to their worst ever loss to a Queensland team with their season on the line.
“It was definitely (disappointing),” he said.
“I can’t (put my finger on it). I’ll get to the bottom of it. It’s fine.
“That’s not part of who we are as a club or team. There was (so much on the line).
“The longer the game went, the worse we got. The confidence went, we looked for the miracle.
“That’s what I can see.”
Walters faces missing the finals for the third time in four seasons in charge of the Broncos, with last year’s grand final loss to Penrith his only play-offs appearance.
The Broncos started the season encouragingly, but have lost nine of their past 12 games to plummet down the ladder and now need a miracle to feature in the finals.
If the Knights lose to the Titans, the Broncos must beat minor premiers Melbourne on Thursday night at Suncorp Stadium to have any hope of playing finals.
The Broncos have endured persistent injuries throughout the season and have sorely missed grand final quartet Kurt Capewell (Warriors), Keenan Palasia (Titans), Tom Flegler (Dolphins) and Herbie Farnworth (Dolphins), who terrorised his former club in a man-of-the-match performance.
Walters admitted the Broncos had crumbled under expectation and hinted to roster changes.
“We’ll look at that at the end of the year like every club does,” he said.
“We’ve got to learn as a club that it’s a big club and we’ve got to come ready to play every week.
“I’m disappointed like everyone is. I’ve got some really strong thoughts but I’m not going to share them today.
“Every week is a challenge for the Broncos. When our players understand and realise that, we will be a better club. We just haven’t got the consistency there.
“We lost four good players from last year’s grand final which doesn’t help.”
REPORT: BRONCOS BATTERED BY BENNETT’S DOLPHINS TO ALL BUT END SEASON
Wayne Bennett has exacted the ultimate revenge on Kevin Walters’ bumbling Broncos after inspiring the Dolphins to their first Battle of Brisbane win in his Queensland derby farewell.
The Broncos need a miracle to play finals football after Bennett orchestrated a 40-6 Riverfire rout on Saturday night to keep the Dolphins’ season alive.
Herbie Farnworth terrorised his former club as the Dolphins secured their first win in four games against the Broncos in emphatic fashion before 50,049 at Suncorp Stadium.
Bennett won six premierships as head coach of the Broncos, but the wounds of his 2018 sacking have never healed and masterminding Brisbane’s worst ever loss to a Queensland team was the sweetest revenge.
The Dolphins remain in the finals hunt while the Broncos’ season is all but over following a pathetic performance with everything to play for.
WAYNE’S WORLD
Bennett, 74, took one of the biggest gambles of his 50-year coaching career by making a raft of changes in a bid to snap the Dolphins’ late-season collapse.
And it paid off to lift the Dolphins into the top eight with one round to play in their second NRL season.
“We played both halves, that was the most pleasing thing,” Bennett said.
“They played really well and with confidence, all the things you need.
“I’m pleased it worked for us. It was a risk but worthwhile taking.
“We’ll take confidence out of it. Sport is about confidence.
“We didn’t play a perfect match but we played really hard and put a lot of effort into it.
“We will know where we stand next week. It’s a good position to be in.”
In his first game against the Broncos since leaving Red Hill, Herbie Farnworth (234m and 10 tackle busts) switched sides, scored two tries and set up another two in one of the finest performances of his career.
Trai Fuller (19 runs for 193m and 13 tackle busts) injected some spark at fullback and allowed Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow to terrorise the Broncos all over the field in a two-try masterclass.
Broncos discard Tevita Pangai Jr (17 runs for 130m) upstaged Broncos superstar Payne Haas (97m) in a ding dong front row battle.
Even Jake Averillo was a revelation in his first game at five-eighth, scoring two tries and creating another two.
This was vintage Bennett at his best before he returns to South Sydney and Walters’ Broncos had no answers.
BRONCOS BUST
The Broncos have been on a slippery slope for three months and this was the final blow.
They were booed when they ran on to Suncorp by a pro-Dolphins crowd and did little to impress the Brisbane fans that turned up.
Having lost nine of their past 12 games to plummet down the ladder, Walters has a serious problem on his hands and Brisbane’s hopes of avenging last year’s grand final defeat are set to die before the play-offs.
Bizarrely, St George Illawarra’s capitulation to Parramatta on Saturday has left the door slightly ajar for the Broncos.
But Newcastle can officially end Brisbane’s finals dreams by beating the Titans on Sunday.
If the Knights beat the Titans, Sunday week’s final game of the regular season between Newcastle and the Dolphins will decide eighth spot on the ladder.
The Raiders and Dragons are also still an outside chance, but even if Brisbane is alive going into the final round they must beat full strength minor premiers Melbourne.
The Broncos have one game left to salvage some pride from what’s been an otherwise terrible season that has put Walters under pressure to save his job next year.
GRUDGE MATCH
Make no mistake, this derby has serious meaning.
You could see the animosity when Adam Reynolds and Felise Kaufusi traded insults as they walked off the field in the first half.
Kaufusi was on his way to the sin bin after collecting Reynolds high and late, leaving Brisbane’s captain needing a head injury assessment.
Reynolds wasn’t happy and let Kaufusi know, but the Dolphins hit-man didn’t back down and gave it back to his fellow veteran.
Great mates Pangai Jr and Haas went toe-to-toe in the opening exchanges which were as hot as the final day of winter in Brisbane.
Bring on next year’s Battles.
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