Key events
CONVERTED TRY! Melbourne 16-12 Brisbane (Walsh, 31)
Storm only make it 30m but a hefty Munster kick forces Brisbane to start their set in their own half. No to worry, on tackle four Hetherington makes a superb run that allows a quick play the ball, from which Reece Walsh justifies all the hype. WOW! With no marker Walsh just sprints through Melbourne like a white comet carving across the night sky. Too quick for Loiero and Blore, too strong for Papenhuyzen, and over the line like an unstoppable force of nature. One of the all-time great grand final tries. That was ego, execution and brute strength. Absolutely magnificent.
Reynolds can’t miss with the kick to reduce the arrears to four.
29 mins: Melbourne steady themselves with a straightforward set but the kick on the last tackle bounces and bobbles and runs out of play! With seven tackles Brisbane drive to halfway then get gifted a penalty when Hughes goes high. The Broncos get another good look at the red zone but make little ground for five tackles with Walsh lacking cohesion in the line and Storm’s defence reading the play superbly, Munster especially. On the last Reynolds dabs a grubber through but it’s defended well by Melbourne on the line. Atkins initially awards Brisbane an accidental offside but Melbourne challenge successfully and can run the ball out from their own 10m line.
27 mins: Storm go long with the dropout but Brisbane run it back with intent. Haas is busy, then Reynolds finds Walsh again on the right, and he stands up Staggs to burst through the line and get hauled down just inches from the corner. Melbourne concede a six again – then a second – as the white wave begins to crest in Melbourne’s red zone. Walsh is slippery, and he almost wriggles through, then nearly sends Mariner over in the corner. Still the Broncos push – until an ambitious Reynolds grubber is mopped up by Warbrick close to his line. That was a big passage for the Storm to resist.
25 mins: After pounding the Broncos for 20 minutes Melbourne make an error – and it’s the impressive Utoikamanu who drops the ball in contact. From the scrum Brisbane try to execute the trick play on tackle one with Reynolds kicking to the right corner with Papenhuyzen coming up into the defensive line. The Storm fullback retreats speedily and knocks the ball behind for a line dropout.
TRY! Melbourne 16-6 Brisbane (Warbrick, 23)
Utoikamanu has been superb early and again he punches a dent in the Brisbane line to set up his halves to scheme at pace behind him. Quick play-the-ball after quick play-the-ball runs the Broncos ragged. Hughes and Munster are having a day out, so much so the former is happy to allow Katoa to play like a second five-eighth on the right and ping an absolutely majestic cutout pass to Warbrick on the whitewash. The big Kiwi takes a step infield and barges his way over the line despite the attention of three defenders. Blistering attacking footy.
Meaney narrowly fails with the touchline conversion attempt.
21 mins: The Broncos grind to halfway and almost find a linebreak through Walsh and Shibasaki on the left. Another superb Reynolds kick on the last keeps Brisbane on the front foot. For three tackles they remain there but a couple of offloads release the dashing Hughes and as he’s hauled down on the defensive 40m line there’s a six-again for holding down. Melbourne are in the groove now and Warbrick carves through the line, then Coates makes a dash – only for Walsh to catch him high with a shoulder! Is that a sin-binning? No, according to Atkins, because Coates was buckling and dropped low. Walsh is on report nonetheless and Melbourne resume their onslaught.
19 mins: Munster is busy as Melbourne rumble at speed down to their attacking 30m line. Down the right channel Hughes goes to the air, Katoa is up at speed, but in the marking contest the second-rower knocks on and Brisbane finally get a breather.
18 mins: Melbourne execute a textbook restart set and put plenty of pressure on Mariner with the last tackle kick. Again the Broncos get nowhere near halfway in reply and Reynolds is forced to kick long to keep his team in touch.
17 mins: It’s not all good news for Melbourne. Jack Howarth has been subbed out with a groin injury. Tyran Wishart is on in his place.
CONVERTED TRY! Melbourne 12-6 Brisbane (Katoa, 15)
Brilliant, just brilliant. After consecutive set restarts Brisbane are flagging. From tackle three near the try line on the left Melbourne send the ball inside for two passes before Hughes drops the ball onto his toe and the onrushing Katoa times his charge to perfection to dive on the bobbling ball and rise to celebrate his team’s second try!
From just to the right of the posts Meaney kicks his second conversion.
12 mins: Melbourne look thrilling in attack. There’s speed from the ruck, grunt from the forwards and crisp hands from the backs. A dangerous attack ends with a kick high to the left corner that is knocked on by Walsh and ends with a penalty to the Storm for an escort on Coates. Melbourne reject the two points and get to work under the posts. There’s a six again – and another – as Munster dances left and right.
10 mins: Utokiamanu has lived up to his word early and his run from the restart allows first Grant, then Papenhuyzen, to snipe from dummy-half. Hughes kicks from 40m and Walsh secures the bomb on his 10m line. Brisbane carry less penetration this drive and get lucky on the last when Hunt’s pass to Reynolds goes to ground. Not to worry, the veteran halfback kicks superbly to turn Coates around and makes the Storm winger run from his in-goal. The Broncos are too eager with their chase, catching the Queenslander high and Storm can kick for attacking field position.
CONVERTED TRY! Melbourne 6-6 Brisbane (Meaney, 8)
From the scrum Utoikamanu drives hard to the 20m line. Then from quick ball off the back all of Melbourne’s big names get a touch of the ball as they catch and pass out to the right hand side until Meaney straightens up, angles in at serious pace, and carves through a flimsy defensive line to dive over for an instant reply!
The centre dusts himself down to add the conversion. We have a shootout!
7 mins: Both sides exchange conservative sets either side of halfway but then the Broncos look to expand on their left, only to fail to hit Shibasaki with the pass. Warbrick rushes up and earns a knock on for his troubles.
5 mins: That is the absolute dream start for Brisbane, taking the lead before Melbourne have even handled the ball, in an attack dominated by both Haas and Walsh. The Storm might feel a little aggrieved at Grant Atkins blowing for such an early penalty, but they were soundly opened by the blistering Broncos attack.
CONVERTED TRY! Melbourne 0-6 Brisbane (Mariner, 3)
After kicking downfield Brisbane get to work. Storm concede a set restart for offside, and in no time the ball is in the red zone. Where is Walsh? Lurking on the right edge, drawing in Howarth, standing his ground, then somehow offloading to Mariner on his outside. The winger steps inside, crosses the try line then just, only just, remains in the field of play as he runs around to touchdown under the posts.
There’s a delay before Reynolds dabs over the conversion, but the Bunker confirms the on-field decision. Accor Stadium is rocking to the sound of jubilant Queenslanders.
2 mins: Jensen, not Haas, takes the first hit-up of the night and Melbourne are up sharply… but just three tackles later the Storm concede the first penalty of the night for Grant interfering with Haas on the ground. Brisbane immediately on the attack.
Kick-off!
The 2025 NRL grand final is under way…
Melbourne to kick off.
Formalities taken care of, the waiting is almost over. Will it be Melbourne or will it be Brisbane?
Now follow the Storm, led by Harry Grant, to a cacophony of boos! I guess we know which club’s fans have bought the most tickets. Melbourne are in their home uniform of purple and navy blue.
Here come the Broncos, led by Adam Reynolds. Brisbane are in their change strip of white jerseys, maroon shorts, and white socks. They are greeted by a deafening roar as they jog out onto the Accor Stadium turf.
Today’s referee is Grant Atkins, and it will be his first grand final in the middle. Atkins took charge of last Sunday’s preliminary final between the Broncos and Panthers.
It’s been a warm and dry spring day in Sydney with temperatures set to remain in the low 20s throughout the grand final. There is unlikely to be any rain during the match, but a northwesterly breeze could provide some inconvenience for fullbacks under high bombs.
Celebrating the contributions of recent retirees is always a special moment of grand final day.
Lech Blaine, author of one of the finest essays on Australian sport, unpacks what it means to be a lifelong Broncos supporter approaching the 2025 grand final.
I thought domestic responsibilities would make me less emotionally invested in rugby league. If anything, I am regressing. Watching this Broncos side makes me feel connected to my father, but not nostalgic. Walsh and Haas don’t feel like substitutes. They are singular, and potentially even better than what came before.
Which takes us to a replay of the 2006 decider: Melbourne v Brisbane. Since that defeat, the Storm have appeared in nine more grand finals, and beaten the Broncos 34 times from 40 matches. Melbourne are now the merciless heavyweights. Maguire is a protege of Bellamy, like Bellamy was of Bennett.
The Broncos are the plucky upstarts. They no longer take triumph or the city of Brisbane for granted. Their fans have a hard-won insight into the normal rollercoaster ride of most sporting sides. Which might just make Sunday night the sweetest victory of all.
The Storm player most responsible for neutralising Haas’s influence will be the Bronco’s front row colleague at the NSW Blues, Stefano Utoikamanu, and the 25-year-old took the un-Melbourne-like step of having a pop at Brisbane in the media during the week.
“I’m going to make sure I set up this week to get that first kick of the game. There are going to be a lot of people I want to run at, a lot of people I don’t like on this team,” he said. “I don’t want to name names. There are a lot of people I think are a bit stuck up. I’m pretty keen just to run out and do a job for our team.”
Back to the footy… Payne Haas has been the preeminent forward in the game for the past few years and this season he has toiled tirelessly for the Broncos. If the giant prop gets into his stride this evening there could be little the Storm pack can do about it.
Reece Walsh might be the face of the NRL, a player whose skill is hard to ignore and his Hollywood demeanour downright impossible. But in his teammate Payne Haas, the NRL has its most compelling character and one who will give Brisbane the chance to ascend to the summit of the sport in Sunday’s grand final against Melbourne.
Oooph! Off comes Mr Swims’ jacket to reveal an AC/DC themed plaid combination ideal for launching into a cover of TNT and demonstrating a decent set of pipes. An excellent way to win over new friends on a night like this.
Teddy Swims has just kicked off his bekilted yacht rock pregame show. It’s fine, I guess.
Speaking of the NRLW grand final, that has already provided the Broncos with a day to remember.
The Brisbane Broncos overcame a valiant Sydney Roosters comeback to secure their fourth NRLW premiership with a 22-18 victory in a see-sawing and spiteful grand final marked by sickening collisions and a shoving match at the final whistle.
Harry Sachar has mailed his customary greeting. “Hi Jonathan, the countdown is well and truly on. Can’t wait. If the men’s final is half as good as the women’s we are in for a treat. I have no idea who is going to win.”
I have no idea either Harry. My left brain says the discipline and spine of Storm, the right brain likes the vibes and maverick unpredictability of the Broncos.
If the Storm have an obvious edge over the Broncos it’s in the Accor Stadium sky close to the try line on their left wing, where Xavier Coates is near-undefendable.
The NRL changed the rules in 2020 to penalise a defender tackling a player who caught a ball in the air in the name of safety. In recent years the accurate kick to the corner towards a flying winger has become a staple of the sport.
But none have done it quite like the 194cm Coates, named in the NRL’s team of the season at the Dally M awards on Wednesday. “Probably my best attribute is competing in the air, and teams are going to try to take that away from me,” he says in the lead-up to Sunday’s grand final against Brisbane. “That’s just all a part of the game, and teams are doing it really well now.”
The Queenslander now has 26 tries from chips or bombs in his career. Since 2014, only Rooster Daniel Tupou and former Cowboy Kyle Feldt have more, according to statistics collected by David Middleton. But Coates’ first grade career only began in 2019, meaning he has climbed the ladder in around half the time as others.
Reece Walsh is rugby league’s pin-up boy but as Jack Snape writes, the Bronco is determined to prove there is plenty of substance behind the hype.
When the players run out on to Sydney’s Accor Stadium on Sunday evening, no competitor will draw more eyes than the Brisbane fullback Reece Walsh. He is a story unto himself, having engineered the miraculous comeback victory over minor premiers Canberra three weeks ago with a performance that was not perfect but more than compelling.
“Pretty boy? Yes. Bit of lair in him? Yes,” said broadcaster Matty Johns this week, who had put Walsh’s last 15 minutes against the Raiders as – alongside Nathan Cleary in the 2023 decider against the Broncos – the greatest he had seen. But Johns also said it shouldn’t be forgotten how “tough” the 23-year-old is, highlighting his frantic running game free of self-preservation.
Nick Tedeschi sets the scene: the Storm machine versus Maguire’s men on a mission.
This is an opportunity for Brisbane to return to glory. And it is not some fluke return. Brisbane are in their second grand final in three years and are on a journey with coach Michael Maguire, who ended a four-decade drought at South Sydney, guided New South Wales to a rare series win over Queensland and helped New Zealand hand Australia their biggest ever loss. He can now add to that masterminding the end of Penrith’s five-peat dream.
Brisbane Broncos XIII
Michael Maguire makes one change to the side that overran the Panthers last Sunday with Patrick Carrigan returning to lock the scrum after he missed the preliminary final through suspension. Ben Talty is the hard luck story who misses out.
Maguire has a surfeit of playmakers at his disposal but has settled on the formula of starting Ben Hunt at five-eighth then shifting the veteran to dummy-half when it’s time to introduce the running game of Ezra Mam.
1. Reece Walsh 2. Josiah Karapani 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Gehamat Shibasaki 5. Deine Mariner 6. Ben Hunt 7. Adam Reynolds 8. Corey Jensen 9. Cory Paix 10. Payne Haas 11. Brendan Piakura 12. Jordan Riki 13. Patrick Carrigan
Interchange: 14. Ezra Mam 15. Kobe Hetherington 16. Xavier Willison 17. Tyson Smoothy
Reserves: 18. Jesse Arthars 19. Jack Gosiewski
Melbourne Storm XIII
Craig Bellamy has stuck with the side that fought past Cronulla in the preliminary final. That means the vaunted spine all start, including Jahrome Hughes, who has had an extra week to recover from his fractured forearm and dislocated shoulder.
Grant Anderson is the unlucky 18th man, despite making 24 appearances and scoring 11 tries this campaign.
1. Ryan Papenhuyzen 2. William Warbrick 3. Jack Howarth 4. Nick Meaney 5. Xavier Coates 6. Cameron Munster 7. Jahrome Hughes 8. Stefano Utoikamanu 9. Harry Grant 10. Josh King 11. Shawn Blore 12. Eliesa Katoa 13. Trent Loiero
Interchange: 14. Tyran Wishart 15. Ativalu Lisati 16. Tui Kamikamica 17. Alec MacDonald Reserves: 18. Grant Anderson 20. Joe Chan
Preamble
Jonathan Howcroft
Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of the NRL grand final between Melbourne Storm and Brisbane Broncos. Kick-off at Accor Stadium in Sydney is 7.30pm AEST.
The 2025 NRL season got underway seven months ago in Las Vegas. From the opening kick-off in Allegiant Stadium rugby league fans have been treated to one of the most entertaining and open campaigns in the sport’s history.
The long-dormant Bulldogs stirred. Ricky’s upstart Raiders were irrepressible. The Panthers climbed off the canvas like The Undertaker. Mark Nawaqanitawase made a mockery of switching codes. The greatest match in modern history took place in Mudgee, only to be one-upped three weeks later in Canberra. And now there is only the destination of the The Provan-Summons Trophy to go.
Will it be handed to Melbourne Storm, the side with the best coach, the best spine, and the best football operation in the game? Or will it be awarded to Brisbane Broncos, the team with the most chutzpah, the highest ceiling, and the largest fanbase?
Storm have always looked destined to make the grand final, but have only occasionally hit top gear in a season dominated by injuries. Their presence owes as much to unheralded utilities like Tyran Wishart, Grant Anderson, and Joe Chan, as it does to their more illustrious colleagues wearing numbers 1,6,7 and 9.
The Broncos weren’t even in the top eight halfway through the season, and in round 23 looked to have lost both starting halves to year-ending injuries. But Michael Maguire’s influence has grown over the course of his first year in the Brisbane hotseat and his players now reflect his hard nosed never-say-die approach to the game. Maguire has also benefited from the very best forward in the game, Payne Haas, hitting top form, and the back with the most potential in the game, Reece Walsh, demonstrating why he is such a precious talent.
Both these teams have recent grand final experience. Both came unstuck against the immovable object that is Penrith. With the Panthers temporarily vanquished, this is an opportunity neither club can afford to pass up.
After a season of such magnificent highs, with two evenly-matched teams, there’s no reason not to expect a fitting premiership decider.
I’ll be back with more build-up and the line-ups shortly. If you want to get in touch this evening, the address is jonathan.howcroft.casual@theguardian.com.
#NRL #grand #final #Melbourne #Storm #Brisbane #Broncos #rugby #league #live #NRL
