NRL Dolphins v Broncos: How the Battle of Brisbane changed Queensland sport for good

Broncos v Dolphins – it’s on. What started out as a proposed rivalry on paper, is now very real, writes Robert Craddock. Here’s what went down – and what it means.

The Broncos have won the first Battle of Brisbane but are officially on notice that a magnificent rivalry has been born that will challenge their status as the kings of Brisbane.

Queensland sport changed at Suncorp Stadium last night and it won’t be changing back.

Get your memberships folks. Put it in your calendars. The Broncos versus Dolphins.

It’s on. For generations.

The stunning match winning length of the field try by Broncos centre Kotoni Staggs and his dramatic “this is our house’’ declaration two minutes from time was the majestic golden stud at the end of a truly magnificent first home derby.

Broncos pipped handed their neighbours, the Dolphins, their first defeat in their fourth game with an 18-12 victory, but the Dolphins actually enhanced their standing as a willing, fearless, mature, gutsy outfit who are winning supporter by the truckload with every performance.

After just four games, they have found their identity and their soul.

Brisbane was a credit to its coach Kevin Walters for the way it fought back when fatigue levels were flashing red.

Some people thought the Dolphins would lose by 30 last night. They almost won.

Kotoni Staggs celebrates with Selwyn Cobbo after scoring the match winning try for the Broncos on Friday night. Picture: AAP Image/Darren England

The first Battle of Brisbane felt like the first State of Origin match of the winter – brutal, desperate and so defence-orientated that there were long periods when you would not have fitted a pea through a gap in the wall, never mind a player.

This much is clear. The Dolphins are the real deal. Their opening to the season was not a honeymoon. They are good. People expect them to fade. They might just get better, injuries and all.

They are supremely fit, admirably calm, nicely unified, defend like tigers and are deceptively good in attack. The don’t have trick shots. They play without ego in a typical Wayne Bennett sort of way.

They have force of Tom Gilbert, the flair of an underrated backline and the wisdom of the Bromwich brothers in the pack.

The first good old fashioned push-and-shove between Dolphins’ hot-blooded forward Tom Gilbert and Broncos skipper Adam Reynolds came after Reynolds fired a wayward pass into touch. When Gilbert dropped a ball on the first tackle he received a decent return serve.

Brisbane is not a huge jersey-wearing city when compared to the AFL but the amount of jerseys of both teams seen in the western suburbs on Friday told its own story of a battle where people want their colours to be seen.

Tribal warfare. Brisbane never thought it needed it but there we go …

This stunning rivalry is two or three years ahead of where it was expected to be. And the great thing is it contains no artificial flavours. The thorns are real.

The first Battle of Brisbane felt like the first State of Origin match of the winter, says Robert Craddock. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

The jerseys were out in Brisbane. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Both teams were initially happy to play along with the narrative because they know rivalry equals dollars … and plenty of them.

But what started out as a proposed rivalry on paper soon became a very natural, rough and raw and real thing.

Sydney fans take umbrage at the suggestion the Dolphins-Broncos rivalry will eventually outstrip the time-honoured Roosters-Souths clash as the code’s premier neighbourly feud, but don’t laugh.

It’s true, you can’t match a century of tradition, but you can match the moment.

Already the crowd is bigger (51,047 at Suncorp compared to 36,000 for the Sydney match) and television ratings figures are expected to confirm that the Dolphins-Broncos game was an eyeball magnet of rare appeal and one of the biggest rating home and away games of all time.

Remarkably, demand for tickets exceeded a standard Suncorp State of Origin fixture. Had the stadium had more seats the crowd would have threatened 60,000. That’s amazing.

Already, it is more personal and sharp-edged than the Broncos intense. yet respectful, long distance rivalry with the North Queensland Cowboys because while there was a comfortable distance between the Broncos and Cowboys – the latest one is like two sharks in the one pool fighting over the same feed of pilchards.

The Dolphins are the real deal. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

The Dolphins are a month old yet have already played in front of a home and away crowd the size of which many longstanding teams have never or will never see the like of.

Only five weeks ago, there were stories about fears that Dolphins games were going to be television ratings flops, but the script has flipped for them to now be ratings studs not duds.

The Dolphins and Broncos don’t like each other in the way owners of a coffee shop feel instantly upset when another cafe starts up around the corner, enjoying any feedback which says their rivals banana bread is too dry.

So much of the rivalry centres upon Bennett’s dislike of the Broncos after he was sacked by them and he will get another three games to claim their scalp before, it is predicted, he will hand the side over to his deputy Kristian Woolf at the end of next season.