Game 741 – S28E31 Review

Melbourne Storm 22–26 Brisbane Broncos

jonnyforeigner

Oct 12, 2025

In a shattering defeat that will leave a permanent scar, Melbourne lost their sixth NRL Grand Final.

Melbourne – 22 (Meaney 8', Katoa 14', Warbrick 22', Hughes 35' tries; Meaney 3/4 goals)

Brisbane – 26 (Mariner 3', 55', Shibasaki 46', 58', Walsh 31' tries; Reynolds 2/3, Walsh 1/2 goals)

It’s been a week since the Grand Final. I suppose it’s time to take a second look.

Although the Spider cam versions of the highlights do have the added benefit of no commentary.

Season in the Toilet

The narrative of the 2025 season hasn’t been with Melbourne. So it was from the kickoff. The referee who was “supposed to let the game flow” or some bollocks got caught up in the narrative from the kickoff, gifting Brisbane a soft penalty to hand them immediate attacking position. Melbourne forced to defend an extended set too because Grant Atkins also needed to issue a set restart.

Jack Howarth’s defence on Reece Walsh though… oooft. Make a fucking tackle or at least stop the pass. Deine Mariner strolling over the line to score the first try after 124 seconds. Sigh.1

Melbourne’s first set in possession of the Steeden came in the fourth minute.2 They gained just 40 metres and the only forward to make a run was Eli Katoa. A deep kick from Jahrome Hughes at least put the Storm in a better mindset for their next defensive set, rushing up on the Broncos left edge to force an error from Gehamet Shibasaki. An attacking scrum set up some good field position and the absolutely scintillating way the Storm moved the ball to their right edge through Shawn Blore, Hughes and Ryan Papenhuyzen for Nick Meaney to cut back through the Broncos defence. Brillant. Melbourne were back in it and level on the scoreboard inside the opening 10 minutes. Guess the grind was off the agenda.

The next ten minutes was 2025 Melbourne Storm attacking rugby league. The try gave them confidence to pass and move in way that we know that Melbourne can attack with the personnel available. The middle forwards got involved, the edges looked menacing. Well the right edge especially.

A couple of clear penalties, including the Broncos Plan A against Xavier Coates, put Melbourne on the front foot,3 but it was a nice little kick from Hughes that caught out the Broncos with Walsh nowhere to be found, as Katoa grounded the ball for the Storm’s second try. Katoa rewarded for his season-long efforts with a Grand Final try.

The cost was Howarth’s injury. Melbourne were down to 16 players and the presence of Tyran Wishart on the left edge was a portent of doom. For now though, Melbourne kept heading right and were finding space. When the Storm did head left, well Grant Atkins and Ashley Klein absolutely fucking squibbed it.

Was that the fourth, fifth or sixth shoulder charge from Reece Walsh in 2025?
Has he been adequately punished for any of them?

As Harry Grant said in the post match:

I got sin binned and [suspended for] two weeks for bugger all [against Canterbury].

It’s deliberate. It’s high. It’s precisely what the NRL have tried to legislate out of the game. At the minimum it’s a sin bin. The bare minimum. The “because he’s falling” is no excuse with the amount of precedents set across this and recent seasons. But the narrative.

With Brisbane ~~down to twelve players~~ on the ropes, Will Warbrick powered his way over in the right corner, beating three defenders on the back of a super pass from Katoa. Melbourne were up and their 10 point lead should have been extended by a Storm team that are able to grind out their opponents… right?

Stefano Utoikamanu’s lost ball from the restart wasn’t great. Brisbane kicking straight from the scrum was bold, and hey Paps even went long from the line dropout. What the hell was going on? Melbourne had even seen off Payne Haas who was subbed off in the 27th minute. Hey the Storm even won a captain’s challenge against one of Atkins’ silly calls.

Then Walsh scored a signature Grand Final try. There’s enough analysis out there about how it happened, remembering that it did happen just under 10 minutes from when he should have been sitting in the dressing rooms. The replays though don’t look pretty for a few Storm players. Melbourne were down to 15 fit players too with Alec MacDonald leaving the field after just six minutes of game time.4

Following the Walsh try, Melbourne had every right to have their heads low, but then Jahrome Hughes did this:

For a moment there everything looked like sunshine and rainbows.

Beating four defenders. Just Rome things. Incredible.

Maybe if Ezra Mam’s knock-on in front of the posts with 50-odd seconds left in the first half was called, Melbourne might have extended their lead even further.

Melbourne had completed 21/22 sets in the first half. Their only error was the Utoikamanu lost ball. The stats were in their favour. Up by 10 points at half time… a better Melbourne Storm team than this would have gone on with it, even with two less players on the bench. A more resilient Melbourne Storm team would have ground out their opposition until they couldn’t stand to keep the ball. This Melbourne Storm team though… is not that Melbourne Storm team.

Yes things would have been very different had Tui Kamikamica been able to hold the ball and score in the third minute after half time.

But he didn’t. That’s the world we live in.

It was a massive turning point in the game. Brisbane marched down the field and the bomb from Adam Reynolds wasn’t caught cleanly by Paps, who injured himself in the process. Melbourne’s passive edge defence returned at the worst possible time for Shibasaki to score to cut the margin to six points. Even when Adam Reynolds limped off with injury, Brisbane were coming hard.

Going back two plays following the end of a Broncos set, one of the softest penalties ever awarded in a Grand Final5 gave Brisbane further possession against a now gassed Storm defence as the narrative was kept alive. It was only briefly halted when Toilet’s pass was correctly called forward. A dropped ball from Warbrick was ill-timed. Melbourne couldn’t hold on any further. Of course it was Toilet who threw the final pass to Mariner to score his second.

As soon as Brisbane hit the front scoring back-to-back, the game was as good as over. Even if there were 20 minutes to go. Even if Toilet’s final pass to Shibasaki for the go ahead try is forward.

Melbourne were broken. Gassed and done.

The final 20 minutes might have seen the Storm defence stiffen back up by not conceding points — they missed as many tackles in the final 20 minutes than they did in the first 20 minutes of the second half.

Melbourne’s panic football has never worked in the past few seasons, especially in big games. Taking a look at their possessions in the final 20 minutes saw the backs working hard, but getting little support from the middle forwards (with the exception of Loiero). That effort left the back five vulnerable in defence though and Brisbane threatened to score by going around Melbourne again. Will Warbrick probably won’t want to watch a replay of the second half.

When Haas made an error with 13 minutes remaining, Melbourne had a chance. That chance was against the make-shift left edge defence up against Melbourne’s right edge. Paps was clear through and probably would have scored if he was fully fit. But it isn’t 2020 anymore. Maybe he should have stepped inside and taken the tackle instead, such is panic football.

I’m honestly surprised Brisbane didn’t score immediately down the other end.

When Carrigan was penalised for crowding (instead of a high shot), again Melbourne had a chance. Was there going to be a try against the narrative? No. Whether it was fate or just whatever, I knew it wasn’t going to happen. There would be no 2015 moment this time for the Broncos.

Melbourne kept getting chances. They weren’t going to get there. Brisbane weren’t going to break. Trent Loeiro gave Atkins/Klein the chance to make up for his first half mistake by committing an offence no worse than what Toilet did. Of course Loiero will be starting 2026 in the stands.

Maybe the secret to having a player put in the sin bin is to start a melee…

Melbourne’s 12-men had one last chance in the final minute. Yeah they made a line break through Katoa (because of course), but again… it wasn’t going to result in points. There would be no miracles.

I can’t help but wonder if Trent Loiero actually spent 10 minutes in the sin bin.

You never want to have to have practice making runner-up speeches

The perfect thousand yard stare. No notes.

Inconsistent

This analysis from Cameron Smith sums it up completely:

I’m not too sure what the feeling would be in the dressing sheds right now. I know it would be a pretty empty feeling especially knowing they’ve lost two straight. It’s an ordinary feeling to lose one, but to lose two consecutively, I just don’t know how they’d be feeling at the moment. They put in so much hard work.
I spoke at this desk 12 months ago and said, ‘Back the Storm, they’ll win it in 2025’ and I still believe it was theirs to lose. They just couldn’t get it done in the second half.
At halftime when they were up by 10, I thought this is made for the Melbourne Storm. They’ll just ice the game, control the tempo, kick long, defend strongly, and they didn’t do it.
The thing that’s come back to haunt them — I still remember this from my playing days when Craig Bellamy would speak to us — the last game, whatever that is in your season, it’s usually a reflection of your entire season.
When you hear Craig Bellamy speak in all of his press conferences this year, what’s the common word that he’s used? Inconsistent.
That was the Melbourne Storm tonight in both halves. Super in the first half, looked very good, had a 10-point lead, looked really comfortable. Second half, couldn’t find a point (and) let in some pretty … I wouldn’t say easy tries but they just went away from their game.

Post match quotes

Grant:

They’re always going to hurt. They hurt a lot.
There’s a lot of work that goes into being here and a lot of people put time and effort throughout the season. You don’t need to be in a rush to get back here, we can’t get back here tomorrow. But what we can do tomorrow can certainly help. That’s painful to listen to, but it’s about what’s next.

Following his fourth Grand Final loss from six appearances, Cameron Munster issued the now usual comments:

It’s pretty grim. You work so hard in the preseason to get to this opportunity. We let it slip last year against Penrith … and unfortunately we’ve lost again. As a group we’ve probably just panicked a little bit trying to throw the ball around. There’s a sour taste in our mouth. We’ll be hungry next year.

Bellyache:

Losing a Grand Final is hard, but you sort of console yourself a little bit with “you know Grand Finals are hard to get to.” Congratulate the boys on having a good year and getting here, but it’s obviously very disappointing when you don’t get the result you want. That’s the emotion at the moment.
At the end of the day we just weren’t good enough on the night. We weren’t overly smart at times.
It’s obviously tough losing a Grand Final whatever the situation.
I think there was a couple of things we though we learned from last year, but obviously we didn’t. So they’ll be doubled down on in our preseason and hopefully we can have a good season next year.
If you don’t want to work hard, well we won’t be back here next year. You want to put the work in, well we’ll be a chance.

The Fancam experience did give this iconic image though

Josh King:

You get beaten or you get better - that’s we’ve got to use now. We’ve got a couple of weeks to really let it sink in and let those wounds heal a little bit. Then come November, December, we’ve got to hit the ground running again.
We’ve got to come back with a little bit of fire in our bellies again next year and hopefully come back all the way here.
Third time lucky, hey? Let’s see what happens

Stat offloads

Melbourne Storm have now lost all three matches against the Brisbane Broncos played in NSW (1998, 2006, 2025).
In 12 NRL Grand Final matches, Melbourne have been held scoreless for eight halves (4× in each half).
22 points is Melbourne’s highest half time score in a Grand Final and is now their biggest losing NRL Grand Final score. It is also the first time Melbourne has had the lead at half time in a Grand Final and lost.
Trent Loiero is the fourth Melbourne player to be sin binned in a Grand Final following Cameron Munster (2018 (twice)), Jahrome Hughes and Brandon Smith (both 2020).
Melbourne’s record in Grand Finals without a Smith in the lineup — 0 wins.
The Storm gave up five half time leads in 2025, losing five of their eight matches after leading at the break. The only season Melbourne had lost previously lost four matches after leading at half time was 2015.6

Was it worth it?

To sit there and have to put up with whatever that Broncos chant was over the tannoy during play and their idiotic try celebration song and dance.7 Hand me the bucket.

Last year it was obvious the reasons why Melbourne lost. This year the problems remain. It would be foolish to think that the deficiencies are easily rectified.

At least the arts and craft project looked good.

Now that I’ve finally seen the replay, I won’t be revisiting this match again any time soon.

-2025/10

Abandon hope…

There’s always next year right? In a bout of copium, I wondered about other teams that have tried to do what Melbourne will be attempting in 2026. The historical results aren’t great.

So I guess we might as well look towards 2027 then…8

Storm Machine Player of the Year

In a beaten team, Eli Katoa tried, tried and kept trying. If it wasn’t for Toilet he probably would have been the first Tongan to win the Clive Churchill Medal had the Storm been the winning team.9 His final stat line includes some missed tackles, but when the Storm missed FORTY SEVEN10 of them most of them in that second half, he can probably be excused a little.

For their first half efforts, Hughes and Papenhuyzen deserve a point each.

Grand Final points:

3 – Eliesa Katoa
1 – Jahrome Hughes
1 – Ryan Papenhuyzen

Final Leaderboard

31 – Eliesa Katoa
20 – Cameron Munster
17 – Harry Grant
16 – Ryan Papenhuyzen, Jahrome Hughes
15 – Trent Loiero
14 – Stefano Utoikamanu
12 – Xavier Coates
7 – Shawn Blore
6 – Josh King
4 – Grant Anderson, Nick Meaney
3 – Sualauvi Fa’alogo, Jack Howarth, Tyran Wishart, Jonah Pezet, Will Warbrick
2 – Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Kane Bradley, Alec MacDonald, Ativalu Lisati
1 – Joe Chan, Bronson Garlick

To come in 2025

Will let some more dust settle to compile the player reports, and end of season review posts.11

The Storm Awards night was on Wednesday 8 October:

Cooper Cronk Feeder Club Player of the Year: Suilagi Tuimalatu-Brown
Best Try Award: Harry Grant (round 24 vs Penrith)
Most Improved Player Award: Grant Anderson
Billy Slater Rookie of the Year Award: Ativalu Lisati
Members Player of the Year Award: Eliesa Katoa
Best Forward of the Year Award: Eliesa Katoa
Best Back of the Year Award: Ryan Papenhuyzen
Cameron Smith Player of the Year Award: Xavier Coates

I haven’t seen the final leaderboard posted anywhere,12 so who knows how far Coates was in front of Katoa at the end. A little surprised Papenhuyzen pipped Munster/Hughes too for Best Back.13 Hard to argue with the other award winners.

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