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With ten minutes to play, the wind changed at Accor Stadium. On the field, it had changed long before that.
Penrith, from 16 points behind, had the breeze at their back metaphorically before they had it literally, staging the greatest comeback in Grand Final history to down the Broncos 26-24, seal the threepeat, waltz into immortality and all the rest.
It’s a cliche, but Brisbane did everything everyone said that they should do, did it well, and lost anyway. Penrith, and Nathan Cleary, are too good. You rarely see their Plan B, but never doubt that it is there.
The central tactical question surrounded whether the Broncos could defend their errors while still playing their footy.
The answer came in two parts. The first half showed that, despite huge pressure, Brisbane could keep the Panthers at bay, the second that if they kept playing their footy, in spite of inevitable errors, it would garner results.
But did it? The amount of defending, accumulated in stifling heat over so long, at such speed, must have took it’s toll. As Cleary cut back against the grain for the Hollywood moment, the feeling that the resistance could have been stronger was there. How could it not be?
Penrith did Plan A perfectly, but met a brick wall. Then they got punched in face, their own defences shattered. Then they got up, swung back, swung again and swung again. They’re that sort of bunch.
15 minutes in, the speed had been relentless. In typical fashion, the ball had inexorably moved towards the line the Panthers were attacking. The Broncos were trying. They were trying everything.
Billy Walters stepped out and punted a 40/20. On play two, they showed their hand, putting on a move to the right that nearly saw Herbie Farnworth put Jesse Arthars over. The winger went into touch and back the ball came.
Brisbane’s goalline defence is excellent and it needed to be. First Selwyn Cobbo coughed up a yardage error, then Walsh kicked far too long, gifting a seven tackle set. The Broncos, somehow, kept the score level.
The thing about Penrith, however, is that they’ll get you eventually. They’re happy to wait and, with the temperature still close to 30 and the wind at their backs, the conditions were perfect for the long game.
Kotoni Staggs made a play the ball error, but again, they withstood the attack, conceding a drop out. Reynolds went short, Herbie batted it back…Miitch Kenny scored. That’s the thing about Penrith. They’ll get you eventually.
The commitment to their footy from the Broncos was exceptional. They threw everything: the right shift to Walsh, the left through hands, the double block play, early kicks. At one point, they switched the centres, hoping for different results. Brisbane did all the things everyone said they should do to stand a chance, to disrupt the rhythm.
They had a crack and defended their errors. Another penalty goal went again, via another failed dropout attempt. That they tried it after messing it up the first time told you everything.
The Broncos were goosed, ten minutes before half time, as so many sides have been against these Panthers. Death by a thousand cuts. They’ll get you eventually.
And yet this Broncos side proved the exception. Flegler’s crashover was the sort of try you might have expected Penrith to score, batterring through knackered defence, but instead, it put a totally different complexion on the half.
The stats said total Panthers domination: 250 more metres, 95% completion rate, three more sets’ worth of play the balls. The scoreboard, however, was just 8-6.
Five minutes into the second half, it was 12-8. The Broncos’ commitment to the bit kept going with a smart short side play, and this time, the defence wasn’t there.
Just like last week, Izack Tago’s one-on-one defence was found wanting, with Mam skinning the centre, fresh back from injury, to race away.
Five minutes after that, again, this time Isaah Yeo left standing. Three minutes after that, they did it a third time, Walsh putting on his favourite move to break the line before finding Mam for his hat trick.
So what is the moral of this story? Attack can beat defence. Brisbane did everything to unsettle, and even when it didn’t work, they doubled down.
Reece Walsh kicked dead more than once, but it was fine: the set start, even with an extra tackle in the set, was easier to defend. Deliberate or not, it broke up the game.
The Panthers put on their masterclass of position and possession, but they lacked adventure. They took five tackles to do what Brisbane did in two.
Yes, the Broncos had to defend well to stay in the game – this is still the Panthers we’re talking about – but they didn’t throw enough. It wasn’t as hard a test as it might have been.
Time and again, they set to the left, then aimed for Tago and Brian To’o on the right against Farnworth and Arthars. It didn’t work.
When they went right, too often Jarome Luai picked the easier option of Scott Sorensen on the drop line rather than engaging and feeding Stephen Crichton. Luai layered departed hurt, and one wonders how fit he ever was.
And yet. And yet. The Panthers will get you eventually. With the scoreboard weighing heavily on their backs, they brought the adventure, with Cleary to the fore, of course.
Penrith play one way because it suits them best, but never doubt that they can do others, too. They still completed – indeed, they went 100% through the whole second half – but did so with far more endeavour.
The point about having a great system is that you lean on it when you need it the most. You know it so well that you can modify it, problem solving your way to victory.
Attack had beaten defence, and it would do again. When Panthers want to attack, they can with the best, because they have the best player to do so. Cleary just did more and more, and suddenly, he had Crichton with him. They’ll miss him when he’s gone.
Penrith’s system never failed in the first half, but their execution did. The slider was slightly too far towards conservatism, but with a game to chase, it was edged a little over, with Cleary forced to show his hand. NEver doub there’s an ace in it.
It could only be him who ended it. The winning try, when it came, was the sort that comes when one side is absolutely knackered, tackled into the floor. Walters, Jordan Riki and Walsh, all clasping at thin air.
That’s the thing about Penrith. They’ll get you eventually.