‘Comeback Kings’: Deja vu as Walsh inspires Broncos to victory over Storm in epic GF rematch
It was a case of deja vu as Brisbane Broncos came roaring back from a double-digit halftime deficit to overrun Melbourne Storm 18-14 in a grand final re-match thriller at a sold out AAMI Park on Friday night.
MATCH CENTRE: Storm v Broncos, scores, stats, live blog
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Faced with an even bigger task than what confronted them when they fought back from 10 points down at halftime of last year’s season decider, the Broncos overturned a massive 14-point deficit after 40 minutes to mow down the Storm and kick-start their title defence.
A powerhouse second half performance from Broncos forward Jordan Riki turned the game on its head.
With Storm leading 14-0 at halftime, Riki ran in two tries in the opening 11 minutes of the second half to completely change the momentum of the game.
Riki ran for 142 metres, including 56 post contact metres, seven tackle breaks and made 35 tackles in defence to inspire the Broncos to their first win of the season.
Centre Kotoni Staggs sealed a famous Broncos victory with the match winning try in the 59th minute before superstar fullback Reece Walsh riled up the Storm fans on the full time siren with a shoosh sign.
HOOROO TO HOODOO
It was a hoodoo-breaking win for the Broncos, who had not won at AAMI Park since 2016, and a much-needed form reversal after starting the season with two straight losses.
The Storm produced a dominant first half and seemed to be coasting to a third straight win to start the season.
Three Broncos tries at the start of the second half would have brought back some bitter memories for the Storm players involved in last year’s season decider.
Just like the 2025 grand final, the Storm went scoreless in the second half, but it was not for a want of trying, as they dominated the final 20 minutes, only to be met by a brick wall Broncos defence.
After conceding 66 points in their first two matches, it was a welcome return to form for the Broncos defence, perhaps a line in the sand game after struggling to start the season.
CHAN’S FORCE
Joe Chan, the man with arguably the biggest shoes to fill after the season-ending preseason concussion to star forward Eliesa Katoa, made a powerful start to the game for Storm with some blistering runs.
The second rower attacked the Broncos defensive line at speed and jolted Broncos forward Pat Carrigan back before offloading to full back Sua Faalogo for the game’s opening try.
Up to that point, you would not have known the Broncos defence had been historically leaky for a defending premier.
The Broncos had conceded a club worst 66 points in the opening two rounds and it was a major reason why they started the season 0-2, but any questions Storm asked of them in the first 20 minutes, the visitors had the answer.
That was until Chan busted the gate open.
STARLETT SIZZLES
The fullback duel between Walsh and Storm upstart Sua Faalogo was always enthralling.
Faalogo produced an incredible 256 run metres and seven tackle breaks and looked every bit a star in the making, but Walsh had the last laugh.
Ill-discipline in the dying minutes of the first half undid the Broncos positive start and had them staring at a 14-0 deficit at halftime.
Walsh carelessly came in second into the tackle and caught Storm five-eighth Cameron Munster high, giving Storm two points, before halfback Ben Hunt went high on young Storm forward Cooper Clarke and paid the ultimate price with a rampaging Chan scoring a try from the ensuing set.
HIT THE REPEAT BUTTON
The Broncos came out roaring in the second half.
If they were to repeat the dose from last year’s grand final and come from behind to win, they needed to be the first team to score in the second half
Walsh hit the line with speed and attracted multiple Storm defenders, opening up a gap for Riki to run through for a much-needed try before Riki barged over in the corner for his second try.
Staggs put a nightmare first half behind him when he squeezed through a small gap to put the Broncos in front and they were never headed.
The Storm dug deep into their playbook and came close to scoring on a number of occasions, but the Broncos held out gamely and Storm suffered their first loss of the season.
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MATCH PREVIEW
The Brisbane Broncos will need to reverse a shocking hoodoo dating back to 2016 when they take on the Melbourne Storm in last year’s grand final rematch.
For the Storm Alec MacDonald has successfully returned from a concussion he suffered against the Eels in Round 1, replacing Ativalu Lisati at second row, while Jack Hetherington joins the bench.
For the Broncos Ben Hunt starts at halfback for the injured Adam Reynolds, while Blake Mozer joins the bench.
Brisbane haven’t beaten the Storm in Melbourne in their past nine meetings.
It’s not just recent history the Storm have the edge though.
Remarkably, the Storm have won 43 of the 60 games between the two sides all time.
With that said, it was the Broncos saluting in the all-important 2025 decider, however, the form of these two teams couldn’t be any different entering this clash.
The Broncos are under pressure after two losses to start the season, with Michael Maguire facing the blowtorch again while Melbourne have scored 98 points in their two dominant victories.
TEAMS
Storm team: 1. Sualauvi Faalogo 2. William Warbrick 3. Jack Howarth 4. Moses Leo 5. Nick Meaney 6. Cameron Munster 7. Jahrome Hughes 8. Stefano Utoikamanu 9. Harry Grant 10. Josh King 11. Joe Chan 18. Alec MacDonald 13. Tui Kamikamica 14. Tyran Wishart 15. Trent Loiero 16. Davvy Moale 17. Cooper Clarke 19. Siulagi Tuimalatu-Brown 20. Jack Hetherington
Broncos team: 1. Reece Walsh 2. Josiah Karapani 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Deine Mariner 5. Grant Anderson 6. Ezra Mam 14. Ben Hunt 8. Corey Jensen 9. Cory Paix 10. Payne Haas 11. Xavier Willison 12. Jordan Riki 13. Patrick Carrigan 15. Ben Talty 16. Aublix Tawha 17. Gehamat Shibasaki 18. Brendan Piakura 19. Jaiyden Hunt 20. Blake Mozer
