S27E27 Preview – Finishing strong

Sunshine swing part two

More Queensland action for the Storm for the final time in 2024.

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Ending Brisbane

Let’s be real for a second, it’s pretty fun being a Storm fan. Yearly finals campaigns,¹ watching some of the greatest players run out each week, getting to attend a great stadium instead of a suburban shithole, regularly ending the season of the Brisbane Broncos…

Since the 2006 NRL Grand Final,² Melbourne have lost just five matches against News Corp’s Brisbane Broncos, with some of the more fun wins over the boys from Red Hill ending the seasons of the Broncos in the finals.

While the Red Fish officially ended their finals chances last week, Melbourne still get to close the curtains on the Brisbane Broncos season for the fifth time. My thoughts this week turned to those four previous matches, all big matches played in the finals.

S10E26 – Melbourne Storm vs Brisbane Broncos

For the fourth year in succession, Melbourne met Brisbane in a final, but at Olympic Park for the first time. The reigning premiers had limped into the finals on the back of four losses in the final five weeks of the season, finishing in eighth place with 11 wins for the season. As per Nine’s commentary they had been decimated by injuries — Darren Lockyer, Karmichael Hunt, Shaun Berrigan just three of the names missing from the Brisbane team sheet. This would prove to be the last game for Petero Civoniceva at Brisbane in their 500th premiership match.

Melbourne meanwhile had cut a swathe through the competition looking to avenge the disappointment of the final match of the 2006 season. With a methodical and purposeful game plan, the Storm were a well-oiled machine and on this day just dominated the Broncos, even without Greg Inglis.

With a breeze at their backs attacking the river end of The Graveyard, Melbourne were up 28–0 at half time. Steve Turner had a hat-trick of tries, terrorising Steve Michaels on the right wing, while Alwyn Simpson on debut in his one and only NRL match, had a number of errors.

In what was an untidy second half, Israel Folau almost killed a guy³ and a streaker entertained the crowd in the 70th minute.⁴ In the post match, Craig Bellamy was “proud of the control and composure” shown by Melbourne to brutalise the Broncos.

Melbourne – 40 (Turner 15', 26', 40', Quinn 5', C Smith 31', Geyer 34', Slater 58', King 73' tries; Smith 3/7, Folau 1/2 goals)

Brisbane – 0

S11E28 – Melbourne Storm vs Brisbane Broncos

One of, if not the most famous Melbourne Storm match against the Brisbane Broncos. A packed Suncorp Stadium, week two of the 2008 NRL finals. Melbourne had lost to the eighth-placed Warriors at Olympic Park and despite being the minor premiers did not get to host the fifth-placed Broncos who had won against the Roosters.

Words really don’t do this match justice, so just go watch it instead.⁵

This was one of the most amazing atmospheres that I’ve experienced at a rugby league match. I’m still not sure how I didn’t sustain an injury when Greg Inglis crossed over for the winning try.

The premiers are back. The premiers have scored. This is just an amazing fightback. The crowd can’t believe it. The Storm… by two. The fulltime siren is about to sound.

Broncos have sunk to the ground all over the park. Melbourne celebrating, they know they’ve won it.

Brisbane – 14 (Boyd 3', Kemp 32’ tries; Parker 3/3 goals)

Melbourne – 16 (Crocker 46', Slater 64', Inglis 80' tries; C Smith 2/3 goals)

S12E29 – Melbourne Storm vs Brisbane Broncos

The sixth year in a row that Melbourne and Brisbane would play in the finals — the 2009 preliminary final played at Etihad Stadium the night of the 2009 AFL Grand Final.⁶

Brisbane came to Melbourne on the back of seven straight wins to make the preliminary final from sixth on the ladder, while the Storm had dispensed of Manly a fortnight earlier. The Broncos had suffered a blow in their semi-final win when halfback Peter Wallace suffered a broken ankle. In his place Tonie Carroll started at halfback, with Darren Lockyer the sole playmaking option.

Like 2007, Melbourne terrorised the Broncos in a dominant performance. It started early when Will Chambers beat Israel Folau on the right edge, and although the Broncos came close to scoring in the ninth minute, Melbourne’s defence was too much for the visitors. Lockyer had a poor game with the boot under the roof, and Billy Slater scored his 100th try in the first half, again exploiting the defensive deficiencies of Ivan Henjak’s Broncos, especially Israel Folau.

The most spectacular try came just on half time when Greg Inglis destroyed Jharel Yow Yeh and Justin Hodges, somersaulting across the line in the corner to score the first of three tries for the evening.

Inglis had his second not long into the second half, scoring with ease from a scrum play, with the commentators bemoaning that there was “no commitment in defence from Brisbane.”⁷

Cameron Smith became the leading points scorer for Melbourne in this match, overtaking Matt Orford — while Hodges and Yow Yeh were lucky to stay on the field for their dangerous tackle on Dane Neilsen.

There was a late scuffle and a try after the siren to Folau, but this was yet another dismantling of the Broncos by a red-hot Melbourne Storm.

Melbourne – 40 (Inglis 39', 45', 69', Slater 20', 73', Chambers 3', Johnson 25’ tries; Smith 6/7 goals)

Brisbane – 10 (Glenn 59’, Folau 80' tries; Parker 1/1 goals)

S20E29 – Melbourne Storm vs Brisbane Broncos

Melbourne were dominant in 2017, not dropping outside of the top two on the ladder after round 2 of the season to claim the minor premiership with matches to spare. A fortnight before this preliminary final, the Storm outlasted Parramatta 18–16 in Cameron Smith’s record-breaking 356th NRL appearance.

In Cooper Cronk’s final appearance for the Storm in Melbourne, this match was a slow burn in the first half, with both teams guilty of wasting gilt-edged scoring opportunities,⁸ with first points coming from a penalty goal in the 18th minute. It wasn’t until just on half time that Josh Addo-Carr sprinted away to score from an offload by Curtis Scott.

After half time, there was a lull in scoring, but three tries in just over 12 minutes put the result to bed, Melbourne bursting away through tries to Slater, Asofa-Solomona and Slater again to send a packed AAMI Park into delirium, with the Broncos held scoreless for the third time against the Storm.

Melbourne – 30 (Slater 59', 71', Addo-Carr 39', Asofa-Solomona 66’ tries; Smith 6/6, Harris 1/1 goals)

Brisbane – 0

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Stat attack

• Melbourne have played five matches previously on 5 September for four wins and one defeat. The Storm beat Canberra in the 1998 semi final at Olympic Park, lost at Brookvale in the final round of the 2004 season, held the Warriors scoreless in 2009 at Mt Smart, bid farewell to players in the final match of the 2010 season against Newcastle, with the last match a win against the Broncos in the final match of the 2014 season.

• Brisbane have a winning record against every active NRL opponent, except Melbourne. The Broncos have won just 14 of 56 matches between these teams, with the only draw coming in 2000. Melbourne currently have a winning record against every active opponent.

• Since the Broncos moved back to Suncorp Stadium Lang Park from the suburbs in 2004, Melbourne have only lost four times in 22 matches between the two teams at the venue.

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Team line-up

1. Sualauvi Fa’alogo

2. Will Warbrick

3. Jack Howarth

4. Nick Meaney

5. Grant Anderson

6. Cameron Munster

7. Jahrome Hughes

8. Nelson Asofa-Solomona

9. Harry Grant ©

10. Josh King

11. Shawn Blore

12. Eliesa Katoa

13. Trent Loeiro

14. Tyran Wishart

15. Christian Welch

16. Tui Kamikamica

17. Alec MacDonald

18. Kane Bradley

19. Joe Chan

20. Lazarus Vaalepu

21. Ativalu Lisati

22. Xavier Coates

Referee: Todd Smith (Bunker: Ashley Klein)

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Preview

Brisbane Broncos vs Melbourne Storm
— Suncorp Stadium, 7:50pm Thursday 5 September 2024

Dear Reader — A big part of what I wanted to write this week was a riff on The Boys Are Back Manifesto but unless you were chronically online in a specific niche of the internet for the last decade, the reference might be lost on you.

In any event The Boys, who for a time were absent, are back in town, and it’s my responsibility to spread the word around.

There’s a dozen changes from the Melbourne squad that pushed the Cowboys in Townsville last Thursday night. Among them, albeit named in the number 22 jersey as a reserve is Xavier Coates whose return is definitely a sign that it won’t be long until summer comes.

Christian Welch misses out though with illness, with Lazarus Vaalepu coming into his spot on the bench.

Before the Storm take the field in Brisbane, Andrew Abdo decided to pop into AAMI Park to deliver the J.J. Giltinan Shield to the club. How nice/weird.

I can understand why the Shield wasn’t ready to go at the last home match against the Dolphins, and I can also see the perspective from the club of not having the distraction on game day either before the qualifying final, or the potential for weirdness following the match. Still, it would have been nice if it could have been presented in a way that Melbourne Storm member and fans might have been in attendance. I guess we’ll be seeing the spoils of another great season somewhere in the precinct before the final.

Oh there’s opposition this week. Brisbane are a rabble and Kevin Walters has the full support of the board. The fall of the Broncos this season has been amusing to watch from a distance. Can only recommend reading Liam’s latest Pony Picayune for more.

August 2024

When I looked at their team list on Tuesday I saw they had foolishly selected Reece Walsh to potentially comeback from injury in a match that matters absolutely nothing for them. Why they wanted to sacrifice Walsh is a little confusing, but that is the Broncos Way. Seemingly some form of logic has emerged at Red Hill and Walsh won’t be playing. Instead Tristan Sailor will play his last game for the club before heading off to St Helens in 2025.

What I would love to see this week is Melbourne put the Broncos to the sword, but to be honest I’d settle for a good tuneup before the finals making sure the defensive structures are ready to go. It’ll be interesting to see if Wishy can maintain his lead as the club’s leading tryscorer for the season, with a few players hot on his heels.

What else is going on?

After the Raiders lost the final match of the NSW Cup season, North Sydney claimed the minor premiership and a week off this weekend. They’ll face the winner of the Newtown Jets versus Canberra Raiders qualifying final in a major semi-final at Leichhardt Oval for a spot in the decider. The other NSW Cup final sees the Warriors match up against the Panthers. Both matches are at the Lilyfield Rectangle on Saturday.

After being pantsed by the Pride, the Falcons will need to regroup at home to the Hunters on Sunday afternoon (kickoff 2:10pm — live on 9Now and Kayo). A win in this one will seem the birds through to a preliminary final against the Devils. Suspect there will be a few Storm players trotting out on Sunday afternoon, which might be a good thing for the Falcons.

1. Albeit with September Anxiety.

2. Simpkins is a dickhead.

3. Nick Emmett gave himself a concussion in a very poor attempt to tackle Folau.

4. Said streaker has been immortalised in the Getty Images gallery for this game — I’m not sure his public nudes needed to be published forever, but someone at Getty has kept them there.

5. Or just read Cameron Smith’s book. This match deserves a more thorough retelling than this week’s post has space for. Maybe a full oral history post sometime down the line.

6. Your correspondent watched the AFLGF in the old sports bar inside the stadium, having not been allowed inside the MCG after watching five Geelong Grand Final defeats.

7. They would miss 53 tackles for the match.

8. If you ever want to get angry at Suliasi Vunivalu, watch his bombed try in the first half. Lucky it didn’t matter in the end.