NRL finals LIVE: Brisbane Broncos v Melbourne Storm at Suncorp Stadium
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Key posts
- Joey’s tip for tonight
- Welcome
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Joey’s tip for tonight
Joey’s tip: Storm by 2
First try-scorer: Selwyn Cobbo
Man of the match: Cameron Munster
Battle of the halfbacks
‘Like Sam Burgess with straighter teeth’: Reynolds’ rap for Carrigan
Broncos workhorse Pat Carrigan is Brisbane’s own version of South Sydney’s grand final hero Sam Burgess.
That’s the verdict of former Rabbitohs halfback Adam Reynolds, who won a premiership alongside the big Englishman in 2014.
Pat Carrigan is one of the Broncos most influential players.Credit: Getty
“Patty is just like Sam, except he’s got straighter teeth,” Reynolds, now the Broncos’ skipper, said. “He’s been great for us for a long time now.
“He’s very similar to Sam. I actually always text Sam about him, and the running joke was how Pat Carrigan is no Sam Burgess, but Sam is no Pat Carrigan. Sam and I would send messages to each other, especially when we played Souths.
“Pat has all his traits: he’s tough, he’s aggressive, he leads by his actions, when he speaks people listen, and he’s just a bloke you want to play for. He has an infectious vibe, and just wants to take it to the opposition.”
Read the full story here.
Expert tip: Broncos v Storm
If the Broncos are going to end their 17-year premiership drought, they will have to end their Melbourne hoodoo now.
Last week’s 10-point defeat to the Storm was not an accurate pointer to how these sides will stack up on Friday night. Both had 11 key players missing, and both will be at full strength at Suncorp Stadium tonight.
Stars Reece Walsh, Cameron Munster, Adam Reynolds and Harry Grant are all playing in tonight’s blockbuster.Credit: Getty
Brisbane have not defeated the Storm at Suncorp since 2009, but the likes of Reece Walsh and Ezra Mam have ignited their attack to become the best in the competition. Walsh, in particular, has proven the greater the challenge, the higher he rises, as evidenced by his brilliant State of Origin initiation this year.
Storm coach Craig Bellamy is confident star halfback Jahrome Hughes will be fit to line up and overcome his knee injury, however Tyran Wishart has been named as 18th man as a precaution. Whether he takes the field or not will have a huge say on how Melbourne’s attack fires. Irrespective, we are tipping this Broncos attack to click into gear and pave a course to the grand final.
Broncos by 4.
The stats threatening Broncos’ bid
If the Broncos are to end Penrith’s era of dominance, they will need to eradicate the errors.
Coach Kevin Walters’ men have committed the fourth-most mistakes in the league (272 at an average of 11.34 a game). By comparison, the Panthers have made the fewest – 220 – and their opposition for tonight’s match, Melbourne, sit 15th with 231.
Brisbane’s 226 handling errors rank third in the NRL – where Penrith sit second-last with 186, and the Storm 13th. Brisbane have also made the fourth-most ineffective tackles, and are the lowest-ranked top four side for set completions (eighth at 77 per cent).
Want to know more about the Broncos stats and facts? Read the full story here.
Finals fever – the match ups this weekend
While we’re at it, let’s have a look at the other match ups this weekend.
The Saturday special kicks off with the Warriors taking on the Panthers in Penrith at 4:05pm AEST – the last time these sides met in a final was in 2018, when the Panthers won 27-12.
Warriors star Shaun Johnson has been ruled out of week one of finals with a calf injury.Credit: NRL Photos
Both teams have had injury blows, but it’s the Warriors that hurts the most. Their star half Shaun Johnson, who is a favourite to win the Dally M, has been ruled out with a calf injury.
Saturday night is the Sydney blockbuster with the Roosters taking on the Sharks in the shire at 7:50pm – a bit of a 50/50 pick this one. Both teams have their star players back, and both have had a rollercoaster season.
And to close out the weekend we have the Knights v Raiders in Newcastle at 4:05pm on Sunday afternoon. The Knights are favourites to win this clash after Sebastian Kris was dealt a five-week suspension. The green machine were already missing enforcer Corey Horsburgh and seasoned pro Josh Papali’i, but the Kris blow could be the last nail in Canberra’s season.
The Broncos’ shocking record against Melbourne
Brisbane may be one of the favourites to lift the trophy, but their first finals match-up is quite the challenge.
The Broncos haven’t beaten the Storm since round 25, 2016…yep, that’s right – tonight they’re playing to break a seven-year drought.
You think that’s bad, but if you just count their matches at Suncorp, the Storm have won every game against Brisbane at the venue since 2009.
Talking on Tuesday, star fullback Reece Walsh said he didn’t believe in hoodoos, and that the Broncos were ready to end their dismal record.
“Do I fear the Storm? No, I don’t,” he said. “We’ve got an awesome team, awesome squad here, and we’ve shown that through the year, and it’s just about building on top of what we’ve done and taking what we’ve done this year to another level.
“At the end of the day, we’re the ones going out there; we’re not the same team as whatever it is, the past 13 or whatever [years] everyone’s tossing up. We know the team that we are, we know the footy we can play and on our day we’re one of the best in the comp.”
Welcome
Good evening, and welcome to our live coverage of the first of our NRL finals games.
It’s the Broncos v Storm tonight at Suncorp Stadium, and kick off is at 7:50pm AEST.
There’s a lot of history between these two clubs (more on that later), and after 27 weeks of the regular season, we’re finally at the pointy end of the competition.
The winner of this game gets to cruise on through to the preliminary final, while the loser will have to face the winner of the Sharks v Roosters game which is on Saturday night.
Cameron Munster, Ryan Papenhuyzen, Adam Reynolds and Reece Walsh.Credit: Illustration: Stephen Kiprillis
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