Anatomy of victory: How the Brisbane Broncos beat Melbourne Storm in NRL elimination final

Territory is king in finals footy, especially in greasy conditions. How did the Broncos and Adam Reynolds nail this against the Storm? Watch the full breakdown.

Anatomy of Brisbane’s victory over Melbourne.

Brisbane suffocated Melbourne in Friday night’s 26-0 NRL qualifying final with a terrific defensive display built off the back of five key areas.

Melbourne were outplayed across the park, on the back of a rugby league masterclass from talismanic Broncos halfback Adam Reynolds.

Reynolds, 33, had a hand in everything, finishing the game with three try assists, three linebreak assists, 373 kick metres, converting all five of his kicks at goal and making 14 tackles without a miss — including a trysaver on giant Storm winger Xavier Coates.

Despite having a world-class halves pairing of Cameron Munster and Jahrome Hughes, Craig Bellamy’s side had no answers for the defensive puzzle they faced.

SEE THE KEY MOMENTS THAT DECIDED THE GAME

KICKING GAME

Territory is king in finals footy, especially in greasy conditions.

That makes a strong kicking game essential and it was Brisbane who excelled in that department.

As a team, Brisbane kicked 101m further than the Storm with one less kick, and Tyson Smoothy nailed the game’s only 40/20.

But it was the execution of the Broncos’ kicks, particularly from Reynolds, that made the difference.

Nick Meaney spills a towering Adam Reynolds bomb in the early stages.

First he launched an early bomb that Storm fullback Nick Meaney found impossible to take cleanly.

That error led to Kotoni Staggs’ opening try minutes later where points were at a premium early.

Reynolds’ dropout 10 minutes later won his team back possession when they were under pressure defending their line and stole momentum back from Melbourne.

In comparison, Melbourne’s kickers had a shocker, with too many sets finishing with the Storm giving away seven-tackle 20m restarts.

The disparity in execution was evident late in the first half when Billy Walters weighted a deft kick into the Storm in-goal to force a dropout.

Ryan Papenhuyzen’s restart sailed into touch on the full, gifting Brisbane two valuable points.

DISCIPLINE

The penalty count finished 10-5 to Brisbane but it was the context of the penalties that will leave Bellamy fuming.

Time and time again, Melbourne fell into a bad habit of compounding errors by giving away penalties to relieve any pressure they had built.

Early in the second half, Melbourne were camped in attack until a poor Harry Grant grubber just metres from the try line was easily claimed by Broncos five-eighth Ezra Mam.

Esi Katoa gave away a penalty on the same play for going on with the tackle on Mam, allowing the Broncos to escape their half.

Reynolds orchestrated the ensuing set which concluded with a deft kick towards Coates, who had to throw the ball back infield before he was forced into touch.

Reynolds’ determination and Brisbane’s enthusiasm then won out as the halfback showed tremendous strength to hold up Meaney, allowing the Broncos’ cavalry to arrive and bundle him back over his try line to force a repeat set.

Brisbane were able to set up in attack and they broke through with a spectacular set play out the back to Reece Walsh.

Katoa’s ill-discipline proved costly in Brisbane’s first set after points. His late hit on Walsh’s fifth-tackle kick deep in Brisbane’s own half resulted in a second crucial penalty that led to a try on the next set.

Reynolds was the conductor again down a lethal right-edge attack.

LIVING ON THE (RIGHT) EDGE

Pat Carrigan put in a tireless 60-minute shift, tucking the ball for a game-high 19 carries while playing a key distributing role through the middle of the field.

Carrigan’s ball-playing gave his halfback time and space on the right edge, allowing Reynolds and Walsh to run riot with attacking weapons like Staggs, Jordan Riki and Selwyn Cobbo at their disposal.

Reynolds played eyes-up footy, assessing his options as Brisbane exploited tired or rushing defenders.

All four of Brisbane’s tries came down the right edge as Reynolds toyed with the defence and proved the Broncos can score in any number of different ways.

DEFENCE

Melbourne were tackled inside Brisbane’s 20m line 32 times, but came away with no points thanks to inspired goal-line defence.

Brisbane tackled in numbers and covered for each other to turn away a number of tries the Storm would typically ice.

The Broncos missed just 16 tackles and only conceded one linebreak for the entire match, showing a fervent desire to keep their opposition scoreless.

When Tariq Sims made Melbourne’s only linebreak of the game, after 77 minutes and 35 seconds, Walsh’s grassing tackle a metre out from the line proved another great example of Brisbane’s mindset of refusing the Storm even a consolation try.

It was a defence-heavy game in difficult conditions, but the Storm missed more than twice as many tackles (35) and allowed four linebreaks.

Brisbane’s pack stamped its authority on the middle third of the field...

... and the edge defence was just as good.

FINALS FOOTY EXECUTION

Brisbane came with a plan to play a finals brand of rugby league and it paid dividends.

Hard-running sets without overly expansive play, finished off with a deep kick and good kick chase is as simple as the game gets, but when it’s executed it’s tough to play against.

The Broncos left their offloads at home, only throwing six throughout the game. They didn’t need to throw any more than that, relying on coach Kevin Walters’ game plan of unsettling Melbourne, disrupting their rhythm from the opening set.

With Brisbane’s forwards dominating the metres game and Reynolds’ game management, Walsh’s brilliance helped seal it in the second half.

Originally published as Anatomy of victory: How the Brisbane Broncos beat Melbourne Storm in NRL elimination final