A softening up period? Not from these heavyweight combatants

3 hours ago 2

Opinion

October 5, 2025 — 11.18pm

What a match!

The tradition in rugby league grand finals – to determine who is the heavyweight ‘champeen’ of the year – is for said heavyweights to have a “softening up” period.

The expectation is that each side will stand toe-to-toe and throw a series of upper-cuts, right crosses and jabs, most of which will, of course, be countered. This is, after all, modern league.

They have “defensive systems” designed to block 120kg behemoths and tiny wingers alike. They already know what the best moves of their opponents are through endless study, and have counters prepared.

So, perhaps, after 20 minutes, when the opponent has been battered, beaten and exhausted, a chink of light will show up, and the real match will begin.

But this was not that! This was two heavyweights throwing serious punches from the first round, all of which connected.

Will Warbrick of the Storm scores a try.

Brisbane scored after just two minutes, winger Deine Mariner crossing and then dancing along just a centimetre inside the dead-ball like a scorched acrobat on a high-wire line. Broncos ahead, 6-0.

Within minutes, however, Melbourne made a reply, swinging and connecting, with Nick Meaney scoring, quickly followed by Eli Katoa, and Melbourne was ahead 12-6.

The Channel Nine commentators were stunned and leaned into this very theme, with one noting, “We’ve seen crash, bang, when will we see the wallop?”

Now!

Will Warbrick scores for the Storm on the right edge, 16-6. At this point, it looked like Melbourne were going to win by actual knockout. (And there were actual high shots which connected with the melons of attacking players.

But as opposed to what happened in the Bledisloe Cup on Saturday night, the NRL eschews sending players from the field, as they would create an imbalance that might damage the game. Instead, the players are penalised, put on report, and play on.)

But the Broncos had more in them than we credited and kept firing blows that connected, none of them more stunning than the try scored by Broncos wunderkind, Reece Walsh, who hit the Storm line in his usual fashion – so much on fast forward that it made the six defenders he beat look like they were on slo-mo.

This closed the score to 16-12, only for Melbourne to fire back themselves as Jahrome Hughes scored a beauty to go to the break up 22-12.

Yes, the Broncos were down by 10 points, but as commentator Billy Slater noted, that was not necessarily a problem, as five times this year they have come back from being 14 points down to win, including their amazing comeback last week over the Panthers. And after being 11th on the table after 13 rounds, they have proved themselves to be the masters of the comeback this season. If any team could close the gap, it would be them.

But how much swing-for-the-bling-to-be-kings could they still have left in them?

Plenty! Both teams kept swinging from the opening whistle of the second half, and such was the pace of the game that it proved to be too much for Adam Reynolds, who left the field with a calf injury. In terms of output, the Broncos barely noticed the loss of their veteran playmaker, as it was their young ones who made all the running.

Again, the blizzard of tries blew, it was just not all of them were allowed, one of them being called back for what would have been a brilliant Reece Walsh harbour bridge pass to Josiah Karapani on the fly for a try, bar for the fact it was judged forward.

No matter. Only a few minutes later, Walsh hurled it to the right instead, and Mariner went over in the other corner for his second, to make it 22-20 to the Storm with 23 minutes to go.

Three minutes later, Walsh – him again – fired a bullet pass to his right – for Gehamat Shibasaki to go over with the Broncos now ahead 26-22 with 20 minutes to go. And here, amazingly, the score paused, as both sides assessed.

Now, who is soft?

Now, who wants it more?

Now, who has got the most left in the tank?

Xavier Coates is bundled over the sideline.

For the next period, every blow was parried.

But what could this grand final deliver in the final minutes? The NRL has been notable throughout the season – and never more particularly than in the finals series – to deliver staggering drama in the last minutes. Would we see the same here?

Yes! For after Ryan Papenhuyzen made what could have been the match-winning break, it was only for Walsh to outdo himself in defence, which saw the ball knocked on. Shortly afterwards, the Broncos lost their other veteran playmaker, Ben Hunt, this time to a genuine KO, only for Walsh to rush in and hold him up.

Despite everything, with six minutes to go, the Storm were still in with a good chance, despite the Broncos having all the momentum.

Now the Storm’s Stefano Utoikamanu makes another break. Who can stop him? That would be Walsh, only for Ezra Mam to have hit him high in the process. Penalty to the Storm.

Twenty metres out. Four minutes to go and as many points in deficit. They hurl everything they have at their opponents, which is plenty.

Two minutes to go, it is Storm winger Xavier Coates on the boil, with the premiership-winning try in his hands, only to be – as we say in the trade – BUNDLED INTO TOUCH! (I don’t know if it was Walsh who did it. I just presumed so.)

For some bizarre reason, in the midst of all this high drama, the voice of John Denver warbling Country Roads take me home filled the stadium.

(Seriously?? That stuff is what you play to lift boring moments. This was not that!)

The commentator: “A minute to win it! 95 metres to go.”

Against all odds, it sees brilliant play from the Storm, and Papenhuyzen is suddenly in space.

Who can stop them? I know it. You know it. Reece Walsh nailed him.

Game over.

Great match. And an extraordinary performance by Walsh. I think he must be one member of quintuplets, as there looked to be five of him out there.

Congrats to the Broncos. And a great night for rugba league.