‘That is so sad’: Ryan Papenhuyzen’s injury disaster as Broncos thrash Storm

The Brisbane Broncos have all but ended their 14-year hoodoo but the NRL’s unluckiest player has been left in tears after a horror blow.

A sight no one wants to see. Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Who said anything about a hoodoo?

The Brisbane Broncos have finally ended the 14-year Suncorp Stadium winless streak against the Melbourne Storm in style, dominating the qualifying final 26-0 to now be a win away from the club’s first Grand Final since 2015.

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The Broncos famously had not won against the Storm at Suncorp Stadium since 2009 but the side proved it belongs at the pointy end of the season, booking a home preliminary final and week off.

But while it was an incredible night for the Broncos, it was a nightmare for the Storm.

Not only going scoreless against the Broncos for the first time ever, but the side also lost Ryan Papenhuyzen with another horrific injury.

With seven minutes left, Papenhuyzen was tripped by his teammate while both went for a tackle.

But while it seemed innocuous, it was clearly bad when he clutched his ankle and was in tears as he was stretchered off the field.

A matter of weeks after he returned from a catastrophic knee cap fracture that had him out of the game for more than a year, Papenhuyzen appears to have another long recovery ahead of him.

The Storm confirmed it was a compound fracture of the ankle after he was medicabbed off the field.

This is as heartbreaking as it gets. Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Suncorp went silent after the horrible injury. Pics Adam Head

“Oh no, oh no, oh goodness me,” Dan Ginnane said as Papenhuyzen grabbed for his ankle.

“Oh this is terrible. If anyone in out game does not deserve this, it’s Ryan Papenhuyzen. He has come back after more than a year on the sidelines.

“Sometimes this game is not fair. It’s been a pretty bad night for the Storm but it just became a whole lot worse.”

Corey Parker called it a “terrible, terrible incident”.

“That’s a real bad one... It’s a cruel game,” Parker added.

“Out of the game for over a year, rehab, after a horrific knee injury. From what we saw, another horrific injury with now what looks to be the right ankle.

“You just can’t believe it.”

It can be a cruel game at times. Dear oh dear. That is so sad.

— Phil Gould (@PhilGould15) September 8, 2023

Gut wrenching. Why does this happen to the good guys? Much love @ryanpapenhuyzen. 💔 #NRLBroncosStorm@NRLonNine

— Mathew Thompson (@MathewJThompson) September 8, 2023

So cruel.#NRLBroncosStorm

— Warren Smith (@WarrenSmithFOX) September 8, 2023

“He had to look away. This is awful, awful,” Paul Vautin said on Nine.

Post-match, Storm star Cameron Munster said it was hard to see.

“I feel sorry for him,” Munster said.

“It’s not good news. The poor fella just got back from an injury. Hopefully he can come back and we can see the Papy we know can play.

“Devastating news for him and the club and we are fully behind him.”

Fox League’s Jake Duke said it was “one of the more devastating sidelines I’ve been on”.

Papenhuyzen was still at the stadium post-match as the club awaited an ambulance to take him to hospital.

The injury made a bad night horrific for the Storm as the side was absolutely clueless in attack as the Broncos constantly denied their attack.

The Broncos are into the prelim. Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

The Storm need to go back to the drawing board. Pics Adam Head

It means the Broncos will host just their third preliminary final, while the Storm will have to beat the winner of the Sharks or Roosters.

They’ll just have to get their attack in order.

“I don’t think I’ve seen the Melbourne Storm as confused as they have been tonight,” Greg Alexander said in Fox Sports commentary.

And Munster succinctly summed up the match.

“Dogs**t,” he replied when asked about how he’d sum up the performance.

“We have to go back to the drawing board next week and change a few things or get back to the footy we flow we can play.

“If we compete like we did tonight, it will be similar. We will have a good hard look at themselves, especially myself. We can’t be dishing that up. It was terrible.”

The match was full of feeling with Origin teammates Harry Grant and Pat Carrigan going face-to-face inside the opening minute but the Broncos were quick to get back to playing football with Kotoni Staggs scoring the first try in the seventh minute.

While it was the only try of the first half, the Broncos took an 8-0 lead to the break.

But the second half was all one way traffic as the Broncos tore the Storm apart, scoring three tries in the second half to blow out the score.

9.37pm — Horrific scene shakes NRL to its core

The Broncos are certain to break the 14-year hoodoo, which makes Ryan Papenhuyzen’s horrific injury all the worst.

A matter of weeks after he returned from a catastrophic knee cap fracture that had him out of the game for more than a year, Papenhuyzen appears to have another long recovery ahead of him.

The Storm confirmed it was a compound fracture of the ankle after he was medicabbed off the field.

This is as heartbreaking as it gets. Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

“Oh no, oh no, oh goodness me,” Dan Ginnane said as Papenhuyzen grabbed for his ankle.

“Oh this is terrible. If anyone in out game does not deserve this, it’s Ryan Papenhuyzen. He has come back after more than a year on the sidelines.

“Sometimes this game is not fair. It’s been a pretty bad night for the Storm but it just became a whole lot worse.”

Corey Parker called it a “terrible, terrible incident”.

“He had to look away. This is awful, awful,” Paul Vautin said on Nine.

9.07pm — Reece Walsh finally stamps authority

Reece Walsh has had a pretty quiet night at Suncorp Stadium but he’s stepped up in the big moment to give the Broncos a 14-0 lead after 52 minutes.

After collecting the ball on a backline movement, Walsh stepped inside Young Tonumaipea before beating Harry Grant for a low tackle and carrying Cameron Munster over the line.

Walsh dances through! 🐴 #NRLBroncosStormpic.twitter.com/4tmEShbO28

— NRL (@NRL) September 8, 2023

“The stage is not too big, the lights are not too bright for this young man,” Dan Ginnane said in Fox Sports commentary.

And immediately after, Jordan Riki slammed it down, extending the lead out to 20-0.

8.36pm — Broncos take 8-0 lead to the break

The Broncos are looking to smash their 14-year hoodoo against the Storm and lead 8-0 at halftime.

It’s been a wild first half with some biff, big hits, a try and desperate defence.

The match is far from over but it’s exactly what the Broncos need to give themselves confidence to snap the 14-game curse.

8.18pm — Papenhuyzen in after centre’s HIA

Young Tonumaipea has gone for a HIA after copping an accidental boot from Reece Walsh.

After an attacking bomb from Cam Munster, Selwyn Cobbo batted it back to Walsh.

The Broncos fullback skipped through the first line of chasers, including Tonumaipea, who went for a legs tackle.

But as Walsh skipped out, he left the centre in a bloody mess on the ground.

The injury sees Papenhuyzen come on, likely to fullback with Nick Meaney believed to have shifted out to the centres.

8.03pm — Broncos score first

Kotoni Staggs has the first try of the night as the Broncos take the lead.

In the 8th minute, after mistakes from the Storm, Staggs got the ball from Adam Reynolds about 10m out and beat two men before the line before barging his way over another two at the line.

And the Brisbane crowd went wild.

Too strong from Staggs! 💪 #NRLBroncosStormpic.twitter.com/Ohh0fqOn2h

— NRL (@NRL) September 8, 2023

7.55pm — Biff inside a minute

The finals are well and truly here, ladies and gentlemen.

If you need any proof that there’s a boatload of feeling in this clash, look no further than the first minute of play with Origin teammates Pat Carrigan and Harry Grant ending up squaring up over next to nothing.

Carrigan seemed persistent at attacking Josh King’s ball carrying arm and Grant too exception.

It’s seen the pair starting a push and shove between all the players between the Origin teammates.

“Harry Grant tried to grab a hold of his ponytail, I think,” Cameron Smith said on Nine.

And fans were loving it.

Twenty-three seconds in and they're punching each other.

Glorious.#NRL#NRLBroncosStorm

— Billy Swagspeare (@bswagspeare) September 8, 2023

Not even a minute in and it’s already on 😂 #nrlBroncosStorm

— gemma rogers (@gemma92rogers) September 8, 2023

Games barely started. Oof #NRL#NRLBroncosStorm

— Jake Michael Thompson (@JMThompson95) September 8, 2023

7.15pm — Storm make late change

The Broncos are 1-17 but the Storm have made one change for the qualifying final.

Tariq Sims comes into the 17 and will play off the bench as Bronson Garlick drops off. But the Storm’s starting 13 remains the same.

BRONCOS: 1. Reece Walsh 2. Jesse Arthars 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Herbie Farnworth 5. Selwyn Cobbo 6. Ezra Mam 7. Adam Reynolds 8. Thomas Flegler 9. Billy Walters 10. Payne Haas 11. Kurt Capewell 12. Jordan Riki 13. Patrick Carrigan

Bench: 14. Tyson Smoothy 15. Brendan Piakura 16. Kobe Hetherington 17. Keenan Palasia

18th man: 18. Corey Oates

STORM: 1. Nick Meaney 2. William Warbrick 3. Marion Seve 4. Young Tonumaipea 5. Xavier Coates 6. Cameron Munster 7. Jahrome Hughes 8. Tui Kamikamica 9. Harry Grant 10. Christian Welch 11. Trent Loiero 12. Eliesa Katoa 13. Josh King

Bench: 19. Tariq Sims 15. Tom Eisenhuth 16. Nelson Asofa-Solomona 17. Ryan Papenhuyzen

18th man: 14. Bronson Garlick

7pm — Coach comes clean on $10m Broncos rejection

Storm coach Craig Bellamy will be trying to mastermind yet another win against the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium but in an alternate timeline, the supercoach could well have been leading the opposition.

Speaking to The Courier Mail in the lead up to Friday’s clash, Bellamy revealed he had held a secret meeting on the Gold Coast in 2018 with former Broncos boss Paul White over taking over from Wayne Bennett.

Bellamy has long been believed to be on the verge of retirement and moving north to be closer to family.

At the time, Bellamy was off-contract and was weighing up a three-year deal with the Storm.

Bellamy made the right call. Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Despite having turned down the Broncos three times however, Brisbane were still desperate to get their man and offered Bellamy a lifetime, 10-year deal worth $1m a season.

“I honestly did think about coaching the Broncos,” Bellamy said.

“I was very close at one stage to going.

“From memory, it was the most recent approach (in 2018).

“But ultimately I like the people at the Storm to be loyal and one thing I really value is loyalty.

“I have always had that mentality about appreciating the Storm for giving me my first opportunity as a head coach.

“I felt I owed them and I still owe them for what they did for me and my family.

“I saw a lot of Queensland blokes like Cam Smith and Billy Slater come down here and start their families at the Storm and I felt that connection to the place.

“That’s the main reason I stayed in Melbourne.”

Bellamy admitted he had fond memories of his time at Red Hill, where he won two premierships as an assistant under Bennett.

He also said the ability to go under the radar in the AFL-mad Victoria was another good reason.

It appears to have been a great call because the Storm have made every finals series since, winning in 2020, and making two prelims, while the Broncos barely scraped into the finals in 2019, before winning the wooden spoon in 2020 and only just recovering now under Kevin Walters.