Source :- THE AGE NEWS
A week of frustrations and more headlines for the Brisbane Broncos as their season fell further into the doldrums has ended in calamity – suffering a humiliating 46-20 defeat to the Melbourne Storm to mark their ninth-straight loss at Suncorp Stadium.
Even as retiring skipper Adam Reynolds completed a lap of honour around Suncorp Stadium, the speculation surrounding the nature of his omission for the rest of the season seemed to be too much of a distraction to overcome.
While the official line he could not fight beyond a calf issue eventually came out, it took several turns. First Reynolds declared himself eager to play, before then insisting he had withdrawn himself from the remaining contests. Coach Michael Maguire repeated the latter, but not before Ben Hunt expressed his disappointment at the situation on radio, and an ill-fated social media ‘like’ by Reece Walsh on a post which condemned the captain’s treatment was issued.
It typified a season of woes: from premiers, to barely avoiding the wooden spoon.
Neither Brisbane nor Melbourne had much to play for, given they will not factor in the finals, but the goal-line defence of the Broncos in their final outing at home this year would have done little to give their fans a promise of what 2027 may bring.
Melbourne’s first try was described in commentary as “under-7s stuff” – Stefano Utoikamanu shrugging off four defenders, Payne Haas and Pat Carrigan among them, to reach out and score straight from a penalty tap 10 metres out.
While a Shawn Blore knock on gave Brisbane the chance to strike back through Kotoni Staggs, a Billy Walters’ mistake opened the door for Tryan Wishart to latch onto a short pass from Cameron Munster and fend off two more defenders to score.
Nick Meaney soon sliced through with ease, Haas and Ezra Mam getting nowhere near him, while Siulagi Tuimalatu-Brown bullied his way beyond Josiah Karapani and over the top of Deine Mariner to cross.
Not even a Mam intercept try could settle the carnage that was being inflicted upon Brisbane. On the stroke of halftime, the Storm showcased some razzle-dazzle – Harry Grant’s chip over the top straight from a scrum leading to Wishart’s second.
By halftime, trailing 30-10, the Broncos had missed 27 tackles to Melbourne’s seven.
It took a one-man advantage following Moses Leo’s sin binning for a forceful high shot – and a play of madness which featured kicks from Hunt, Staggs and Mam for Hunt to eventually score – for Brisbane to get back in the contest after the break.
But all that did was delay the inevitable, and gave fans the chance to see the NRL’s first trial of the kick-off rule change in which the team to concede a try determines who kicks off. That Hunt try was the only instance where the scoring team took the kick.
What does the future hold for Brisbane?
They still have a round to play – a trip to Accor Stadium next Thursday to face the Bulldogs – but there are growing concerns for just how the Broncos can bounce back in 2027.
True when they last missed the finals they won the premiership the following year, but the nature of this campaign’s derailing has been particularly concerning.
Sweeping changes will go through the squad – Reynolds, Payne Haas, Corey Jensen, Gehamat Shibasaki, Jesse Arthars and Grant Anderson all departing. Mitch Barnett, Dane Gagai, Jonah Pezet and Blore will arrive at Red Hill with an uphill battle to steady the ship.
But there is no replacing the game’s best prop in Haas. Nor can the likes of Pezet and Tom Duffy be expected to fill Reynolds’ halfback void.
The problems at Brisbane go beyond personnel. In the opening half of Thursday’s defeat, the first four tries they conceded were all directly from errors or needless penalties – Jordan Riki’s push on Jahrome Hughes as the halfback put up a kick seemingly a sign of the side’s frustrations.
Heading into the clash, no outfit had conceded more penalties than the Broncos (128). The Melbourne clash was the 12th time in 2026 they had conceded 30 or more points.
A team which boasts Walsh – sidelined with a syndesmosis injury – Mam, Staggs and Carrigan should possess enough talent to go deep into the year. An offseason of serious soul-searching is on the cards, not just for the players, but for how coach Michael Maguire unites this dressing room.
What does the future hold for Melbourne?
Not since 2010 have the Storm not featured in finals football. On that occasion, it was due to the infamous salary cap scandal.
This time around, it came on the back of their most inconsistent performances witnessed under Craig Bellamy’s tutelage – a seven-game losing streak at the start of the season one they were never quite able to recover from, despite winning eight of their past 14 games.
News Bellamy had been diagnosed with a neurodegenerative condition hardly would have aided their cause, nor did the fate of star edge forward Eli Katoa; who missed the entire campaign after undergoing surgery on a brain bleed suffered in the Pacific Championships last year.
But while they will lose Wishart, Meaney (Bears), Blore (Broncos) and injured winger Will Warbrick (Warriors) for 2027, their all-star spine of Grant, Munster, Hughes and Sua Fa’alogo – who all had some lethal touches against the Broncos – will enter next year as one of the best play-making combinations in the competition.
Munster’s decision in the second half to put in an early grubber for Fa’alogo to break any chance of a Brisbane comeback summed up just how potent this spine can be, with the quartet combing for six try assists. Tuimalatu-Brown’s length-of-the-field intercept try, before leaping above Karapani to score his hat-trick, was the icing on the cake.
It has been far from the envisioned season for Melbourne, but they have the troops and coach to ensure this campaign is an aberration
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