Broncos stun Panthers with Reynolds redemption
Joel Gould |
Brisbane captain Adam Reynolds stepped up in the biggest moment of his career to end Penrith’s five-peat dream with a stunning 16-14 comeback victory.
The Broncos’ win in the preliminary final on Sunday set up a grand final showdown with fierce rivals Melbourne.
Reynolds landed a sideline conversion in the 77th minute to win it, putting to bed the demons of missing to level in the dying minutes in the 2021 grand final against the Panthers, while playing for South Sydney.
The Broncos, trailing 14-0 at halftime, shocked the four-time defending premiers at Suncorp Stadium.
It was a redemption story for the ages for 35-year-old Reynolds who had also copped criticism for not getting the Broncos over the line in the 2023 grand final, won by the Panthers 26-24 thanks to the genius of Nathan Cleary.
“You want those kicks over again for sure, but they are moments in your career that you learn from and I certainly learnt from that a few years ago,” Reynolds said.
“I knew once we scored the try that we had to separate the emotions from what was going on at the time.
“The crowd was amazing. They were so loud. It was good to sit back and take that in and then completely shut off from everything and just focus on the kick, it’s just process over and over again.
“I have been practising that since I was little kid, at Waterloo Oval, back home in Sydney.”
The Broncos are never beaten. They have come back to win this year after trailing by 18 points, twice from 16 points and on another occasion from 14 points behind.
The home side secured their 12th win in the past 14 matches on the back of a brilliant second half.
The first big play came from back-rower Jordan Riki who stopped Nathan Cleary on the tryline when the visitors appeared set to go up by 20 points.
Reynolds, returning from a seven-week layoff with a hamstring injury, laid on a try at the other end for centre Kotoni Staggs with a deflected grubber.
Brisbane repelled raid after raid before prop Xavier Willison charged over in the 70th minute.
Fullback Reece Walsh, in traffic, set up winger Deine Mariner in the 76th minute and the impossible was all of a sudden possible.
Walsh had missed the previous conversion and handed over to Reynolds for the sideline winner, which he slotted with composure before standing in front of the crowd and soaking up the adulation.
The Panthers dominated the first half with two tries to winger Paul Alamoti.
Cleary was in control and it appeared certain he would guide them to a sixth grand final in a row.
Reynolds and the Broncos had other ideas.
Panthers coach Ivan Cleary was philosophical about his side’s incredible run coming to an end.
“Disappointing result, but we were in there swinging until the end,” he said.
The hosts missed the impact of suspended lock Pat Carrigan in the first half, but rallied in the second.
Payne Haas carried the side on his back to get the Broncos back into it.
He was back in the in-goal area to clean up one grubber kick and charged ahead relentlessly to inspire his teammates.
“He’s a freak. He turns up in positions front-rowers shouldn’t,” Panthers co-captain Nathan Cleary said of Haas.
The Panthers lost second-rower Scott Sorensen for the match in the second minute to a category one concussion, although he later passed an HIA test.
The Broncos have played the Storm once before in a decider in 2006 and triumphed 15-8.
AAP
