As the 2023 season ends for a number of clubs, we look back on the highs and lows for every club, their best player, the changes they need to make for next season and an early prediction for where they will finish in 2024.
In this edition, we look at the runners-up in the Brisbane Broncos.
It was an incredible season with plenty of positives. However, Brisbane would feel they let a golden opportunity slip.
Brisbane Broncos - 18 wins, 6 losses, +214
Ladder: 2nd
After a few lean years and a late season collapse in 2022, the Brisbane Broncos returned to the powerhouse team that wreaked havoc in the NRL across the 90s, 2000s and 2010s.
Kevin Walters' Broncos sat in the top eight all season and spent 26 of the 27 regular season rounds inside the top four. They had the second best attack in the competition, opnly behind Penrith by six points but the Broncos also fixed up their defence in 2023 and boasted the second best defence in the competition.
The biggest positive for the Broncos is they were undoubtedly the most entertaining and exciting team to watch all season.
Highlight
Ending the Suncorp Stadium hoodoo against the Melbourne Storm.
It’s remarkable to think that the Broncos hadn’t beaten the Storm at their home ground in Suncorp Storm for 14 years. Records are made to be broken and Brisbane did it in emphatic fashion in the qualifying final. After a tense opening half which saw the Broncos take a slim 8-0 lead at the break, Brisbane outlasted a Craig Bellamy led team and cashed in at the end to claim a famous 26-0 victory which secured a home preliminary final.
It proved to the rest of the competition that this was a new era for the Broncos and they were a serious contender for the premiership.
Honourable Mentions: The first derby win against the Dolphins.
Lowlight
Grand Final collapse.
After Ezra Mam scored his third try at the 54th minute mark, the Broncos had scored 24 unanswered points in 16 minutes and had one hand on the Provan-Summons trophy. The Broncos had all the momentum and yet, the Panthers would complete the greatest Grand Final comeback in just 18 minutes to win their third straight title.
It would be unfair to say that the Broncos choked but they were simply unable to wrestle back momentum once Nathan Cleary imposed himself on the game in the final exchanges. Despite the heartbreak, it should prove to be a strong lesson in the future.
Best Player
Reece Walsh.
Love him or hate him, you certainly can’t ignore him.
Walsh joined the Broncos in the off-season and immediately turned them into an attacking powerhouse. The 20-year-old had nine tries, 26 try assists, 21 line breaks and averaged 152 running metres per game. He was selected for his first State of Origin series for Queensland and excelled under the spotlight. Whilst he led the competition in errors, you take it any day of the week for what he provides your team in attack.
Honourable Mentions: Payne Haas, Herbie Farnworth, Ezra Mam, Pat Carrigan.
What they need for 2024
Limit the errors.
The Broncos’ game style leaves them prone to mistakes and that was evident in the Grand Final. The Broncos had completed just two of their opening six sets against the Panthers and ended the match with a 71% completion rate. In comparison, the Panthers had just one uncompleted set for a 97% completion rate. The frequent offloads and constant passing was clearly effective but the Broncos had the tendency to go overboard with it and need to pick the time and place.
Early 2024 Prediction
1st.
The Broncos were only moments away from ending a 17-year Premiership drought if it weren’t for one of the all-time great individual performances from Nathan Cleary. Despite the losses of Herbie Farnworth and Thomas Flegler to the Dolphins for 2024, the core group of players remains the same. Walsh, Ezra Mam, Selwyn Cobbo, Kotoni Staggs and Payne Haas will only get better and they know they have the game plan to win a Premiership. They should go into the 2024 season as favourites to win it all.
Grade: A+.