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Brisbane have moved a step closer to the Minor Premiership after a Reece Walsh-inspired 29-18 win at Canberra, forcing the Raiders onto the outer in the process.
They had it far from their own way, but, as has so often been the case this year, Walsh was their saviour.
The fullback ripped the Raiders’ left edge apart, picking up three try assists on the same side of the field before booting a field goal to seal the result and adding a late try of his own to underline his dominance.
There was a major worry at the end as Walsh pulled up with a knee complaint. He finished the game, but in discomfort – and not just because, on the very last play, he stopped still and was leathered by Joseph Tapine.
The Broncos now need to defeat Melbourne next Thursday night to claim their first Minor Premiership since 2000.
They will hope to have Adam Reynolds, who missed tonight, back, but may be without Kotoni Staggs, who could be charged after being put on report for elbow on Rapana. Kevin Walters, after seeing the resilience today, will believe.
It was a real gritty game for us, which we’re respecting, particularly given the importance in their season and the two boys not being here next year.
“We just scrapped all night and kicked away a bit right at the right time,” he said.
“It was getting pretty close. I guess it was the sin binning that pushed us a long a bit but it was a tough game.
“We’re always in the fight and Walshy was good there. He was good when we needed him to stand up and he’s quite a character among the group.
It was the third, the middle try of Selwyn Cobbo’s hat trick, that swung the game.
Walsh created the try with his trademark turn of pace, and as the winger went to step inside Jordan Rapana, the fullback flicked a boot at him. It didn’t stop the try, but it did earn the veteran a ten minute sit down, during which Cobbo completed his trio and sealed the result.
Canberra’s chance of making the finals took a huge blow. They must now win at Cronulla next week to be sure, or hope that results elsewhere do the work for them, with their dreadful points differential likely to be their undoing.
With a packed crowd in to send off Jarrod Croker and Jack Wighton, both making their final appearances at Bruce Stadium, it had looked for a long time that the shock was on.
The Rapana bin did for it Ricky Stuart stalked the sideline at the end, but it was to no avail. His team fight again next week, and are lucky enough to play last, so they will know exactly what they need to do.
He was livid at a late call that went against his team, with Hudson Young penalised for the lightest of escorts on Cobbo.
“It doesn’t matter what my view is,” he raged in the press conferernce. “The same view as Hudson’s.
“Why do you reckon they do it? Why do you reckon little old ladies are sitting up off their chair going off their head? You’ve had a bad day when little old ladies are going off their head.
“It would have had to go to the Bunker, to go to a black and white rule. Every escort is going to be exactly the same as Hudson’s, but why does it go against us?”
Stuart rang the changes in the backline ahead of the game. Wighton lined up in the centres for the first time since 2014, Seb Kris moved to the wing for the first time since Round 3 of last year – and only the fourth time ever – and Jordan Rapana was maintained a fullback.
It didn’t start well. Brisbane have been running the same double decoy pattern all year, but Kris bought it hook, line and sinker to give Walsh an easy pass over the top for Selwyn Cobbo to open the scoring.
The second came that way, too, with Frawley, Wighton and Kris looking like it was a long time between drinks as one stayed, one went to allow Walsh to put Kotoni Staggs through.
Offensively, it took time to click too.
Brisbane defended two consecutive sets on their line midway through the first half, but Canberra threw very little at them. After forcing a repeat set, they ran four back-to-back hit ups before Jamal Fogarty kicked for himself and the ball went dead.
A minute later, the Raiders got another good ball set and took another three one man hit ups before scoring the first time that they passed more than once. There might be a lesson in there somewhere.
It was one that the Raiders learned. Nick Cotric’s try was a smart short side move and Hudson Young’s even better, a clever piece of halfback play from Fogarty that got his man away.
The defensive issues came back, however. Though Canberra kept Brisbane at bay for long periods, they were undone by the double decoy pattern a second time, with Wighton and Kris easily disconnected for Cobbo’s second and a third created by Walsh.
Stuart’s thinking on making the switch was likely justified: Rapana has impressed at fullback, Wighton is an exceptional centre (just ask Souths) and Kris can impact the game from out wide.
But with one of the most lethal edges in the comp facing them, it was kamikaze stuff to face them up with a defensive unit that had never played together before and had so rarely played in their positions.
Matt Frawley, the five eighth, was the fall guy, burned on multiple occasions by Walsh, but it was hardly his fault.
When these two met in Brisbane in Round 6, it was one of the upsets of the year. At that stage, the Broncos hadn’t lost and the Raiders had won just once.
There was a pervading feeling that Brisbane weren’t quite as good as they looked at that point, despite the unbeaten record, and perhaps that the Raiders weren’t as bad as their 1-4 looked, either.
Ricky’s Raiders love that situation. They threw all their emotion into the game and caught the Broncos very cold. There was something about the physicality that Brisbane really struggled with, an aggression that they couldn’t quite match. Duly, a raft of errors followed.
At times tonight, it was like a repeat viewing. Though the Broncos put on some exceptional attack – ruthlessly targeting the rejigged edge of Wighton and Kris – they routinely lost the ball in contact and through forcing plays that weren’t always on.
They panicked, too. Ezra Mam kicked on the second in good ball, Herbie Farrnworth went too close to a sideline early in the count and offloads were forced that weren’t there.
For the bulk of the game, the collective failed, but one individual was exceptional. Brisbane were heavily indebted to Walsh’s brilliance. Given the lack of Reynolds, a leader was needed. The fullback chose that moment of need to put in his best showing in a Broncos jersey.