NRL grand final 2023: Queensland clubs on the rise and will dominate again in NRL, AFL

It wasn’t a great weekend for Queensland teams in the NRL and AFL, but big things can be expected of them in the near future, writes ROBERT CRADDOCK.

Enough grand finals... we can’t take it any more.

They say you normally have to lose a grand final before you win one – but it’s a killer to have your heart broken in the process.

Broncos fans and players were suffering like their Brisbane Lions counterparts the day before after a second grand final ended in tears for Brisbane and cheers for southern opponents.

The weekend started with such high expectations with the Brisbane Lions contesting the AFL decider against Collingwood and the Gold Coast Titans women’s team playing Newcastle in that final.

A potential Queensland triple treat had fans hoping they would be drowning in glory on Monday’s public holiday but instead they are left to drown their sorrows after three defeats.

But all is not lost … big things can be expected from the Lions and Broncos in future seasons.

Penrith’s 26-24 victory over Brisbane was one of the greatest grand finals of the modern era, a violently fluctuating game in which Brisbane went from horrible to sublime to suddenly shaky.

They say you have to lose one to win one. Picture: Adam Head

Magnificent Penrith, like a bloodhound sniffing blood, roused from their slumber like the absolute champions they are to frogmarch Brisbane’s dream out the door with a stunning late revival.

After 77 minutes we were about to tell you that the glory days were back at Red Hill. That this was Brisbane greatest premiership with all members of the backline bar Adam Reynolds running for more than 100m.

That Kevin Walters and son Billy was a story for the ages. That the club has a new superstar in Ezra Mam who scored three times and tore the game to shreds. That this Broncos team deserves to be rated the equal of any Brisbane outfit.

Then the brilliant Nathan Cleary sensed a couple of Broncos were breathing like marathon runners climbing Mt Everest and darted through to give the Panthers a 26-24 win in a game which reminded us just how good rugby league can be.

This much is clear. The Broncos are back big time. The juggernaut is back on the rails. Expect them to be top four and dangerous next year.

There are good times ahead but before the sun rises again next season there is deep pain to endure that only a close grand final loss can bring.

The Brisbane Lions suffered a close defeat in the AFL grand final. Picture: Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images

In the same way that some Broncos players think daily about missed tackles in the dying minutes of the 2015 grand final loss to the Cowboys there will be plenty of “what ifs’’ to think about.

But if there is consolation it is that this was a case of Penrith – the greatest club team of the modern era – taking the game rather than the Broncos gifting it to them.

The hard thing for Brisbane is that when leading 24-8 they looked like snapping so many trends that said they couldn’t win.

When Penrith were leading 8-6 at halftime out came the statistic that the Panthers had won 72 of their last 73 games when leading at halftime.

Then ‘Wham Bam’ Mam had the greatest 20 minutes of his life as he made the Panthers defence look as if they were running in lead boots.

A Broncos win in this match would have been jaw-dropping because they not only had to beat Penrith they had to beat themselves or at least their own big night nerves.

The grand final hoopla, with hundreds of fans at the team hotel, a Tina Turner impersonator, and all the flash and fanfare would not have rocked the Panthers because they are used to it – but the Broncos aren’t and it rattled them early.

Broncos coach Kevin Walters consoles five-eighth Ezra Mam. Picture: Adam Head

They made five errors to none in the first 15 minutes with Selwyn Cobbo dropping the ball and Kotoni Staggs making a mess of the play the ball. Even superstar Reece Walsh, Mr Showbiz, was edgy in the first half and tried to snatch at the game.

In all the Broncos made eight errors to one in the first half but one thing held them together. They kept tackling like demons.

For a long while it looked as if that would be a passport to their seventh premiership but such was the pace of the well refereed game early that it simply had to open up late.

And it did – Penrith’s way.

Penrith are the club the Broncos aspire to be, a year to year threat for the title and a bankable presence in the top four. They are Brisbane’s greatest foe and greatest inspirations, proving that you can defy the man-made gravitational forces that are supposed to bring you back to earth when you win the title.

It will be a constant challenge to keep this team together. Centre Herbie Farnworth and forward Tom Flegler are off to the Dolphins and many more players will receive bigger offers from rival clubs.

The Broncos did not make the finals last year so the leap from nowhere to a premiership would have been astonishing. They almost did it.

Originally published as NRL grand final 2023: Queensland clubs on the rise and will dominate again in NRL, AFL