Temperatures flirting with end of winter heat records, a city abuzz ahead of its annual 'Riverfire' pyrotechnics extravaganza, and a game of footy with everything at stake. Welcome to Brisbane, where the Broncos and Dolphins blockbuster has Suncorp Stadium heaving on the final day of August.
Tens of thousands of league loving locals have chosen this tinderbox over the one set to light up the Brisbane River in a few hours time; and with so much written about the ongoing turf war for the South East, Wayne vs. Kevvy and Wayne vs. the Broncos, the opportunity to terminate a rival season while staking a fresh claim to the city brings an enormous degree of theatre to the occasion.
The energy inside the ground is pulsing in the ten minutes before kick off, and there's a strong Dolphins flavour to the current. Their season may be collapsing out from under them for the second year running, but these fans know what Wayne can do and there's a whiff of confidence in the air. Collective thoughts of a massive ambush. On a collision course with a Broncos side carrying more incentive to turn up than any rugby league team could ever need. Surely.
Pondering how the NRL draw continues to throw up these kinds of occasions is best left to those who believe in magic.
Twenty-nine minutes in and the crowd is the quietest it's been. A replay of Pat Carrigan crashing over for a rare try has the Dolphins faithful taking a breather from the incessant chanting and howling in favour of their guys. The Broncos take stock having finally found something after being outgunned from the outset.
It's been an opening that kind of syncs with the previous three months for the Broncos. Early energy is disrupted by poor execution, before improving execution is hampered by fading energy. On this occasion, a telling error opened the gates for the Dolphins and deflated a spirited opening 13 minutes from the 'visitors.' From there, the Broncos have simply failed to stem the tide, playing a flustered and unsettled brand of footy.
Payne Haas' return has offered the expected propulsion boost in the middle from the opening set, Adam Reynolds has attempted to steer, but errors and flat, sideways attack has failed to trouble the Dolphins defence. The skipper's kicking game is a little off, and it's having a debilitating impact on the struggling side. The few inroads made on both edges have been well defended, and forays into Dolphins territory have been snuffed out. There's a lack of cohesion and zero doubt Brisbane have arrived for this season-defining occasion sorely lacking conviction.
Memories of Kevin Walters' "we'll be playing finals" quote make way for an earlier quote.
"The finals are the last thing on our minds right now."
The Dolphins have been themselves. Freewheeling, tough and gritty in the middle, full of intent in defence. Scrappy and prone to a chance of the arm, but full of energy. Bennett has them cooking, and the crowd restores its octaves as Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow enacts a bit of hammer time magic with an 80 metre dash to make it 18-6. It's more opportunistic than the efforts of Jamayne Isaako and Jake Averillo earlier, and Brisbane are just as powerless to stop it.
A fresh stamp of dominance in a 'Battle of Brisbane' fast becoming a cakewalk. The Fins are up and a superior error count is irrelevant. Herbie Farnworth and Averillo are causing enormous headaches for a criminally flat-footed Broncos left edge, Sean O'Sullivan is out-steering Reynolds, and Trai Fuller is looking ever likely. Mark Nichols is working himself to a standstill, TPJ is full of aggression and Max Plath is out-scheming both Billy Walters and Blake Mozer.
Averillo's second of the evening has the feeling of procession about it, as Brisbane's defence falls away far too easily. 24-6 and it's a sea of extremely noisy red in the famous cauldron. The Fins are on, they're playing their brand and it's working. It's a team bristling with positive intent, the occasion clearly bringing a lift so evidently missing for so much of the back half of 2024, and the supercoach must be contemplating just how valuable one or two more of these would have been. Efforts like this are satisfying evidence that nail-biting losses to the likes of the Panthers earlier in the season can be classified as genuine missed opportunities -- not flukes.
Brisbane's display - perhaps fittingly in the 2024 context -- woefully uninspiring and highlighted by an inexplicable complacency. The Dragons may have done their much-discussed finals hopes some small kind of solid earlier in the afternoon, but nothing about the opening 40 minutes suggests it matters. The inability to rise for this kind of occasion is currently a far greater concern than finals permutations.
And so it's 40 minutes to save some kind of face, and show the bewildered loyal legions some sort of desire to live on. And it's a sticky 24 degrees as Brisbane attempts to dial up the intensity in the early phases. Kevvy's most important halftime oration of the season is ringing in the ears as Carrigan and Jensen hit some slightly wider lines.
The intention to shift the ball is impeded by errors for both sides, but does suggest the Dolphins won't be bunkering down. Minutes from Jeremy Marshall-King bring an immediate directness to the Dolphins' attack, and it's a ridiculously simple route Herbie Farnworth takes in the 47th minute to push the margin to a brutal 24 points. Seventy-odd games in Broncos colours means nothing for the fleet-footed Englishman, who completes possibly the most signposted inside line of the season, untouched. His opponents are powerless to stop it. Quicksand doesn't do the Broncos' plight justice. Belief is shot. A Tristan Sailor error has a nearby journalist comment on his mind already being in the UK, and it's a knock the whole team deserves. Fifteen minutes closer to capitulation and there is just nothing there for Walters. It's an empty shell performance, made worse by consistent scrappy discipline.
Hammer has a double, 36-6, and the narrative has well and truly turned to the Dolphins do-or-die battle with the Knights next week. Suddenly they're zeroing in on a finals berth that before today seemed extremely unlikely. A game they can win, and win well, if Wayne can stir anything resembling the rampant mood carried into round 26.
Nothing can be taken away from the dominance of the men from the Redcliffe Peninsular. A poor opponent was made far poorer by enthusiasm, aggression, energy and intent. The fundamentals remain as simple as they have for every Wayne Bennett team to trot around in elite competition since 1988. With Marshall-King's return and the reinjection of Kodi Nikorima and Jesse Bromwich to a side that's rediscovered some of the love after a torrid few months, do not rule out an historic maiden finals berth. Despite the injuries, errors and questions around depth. If they can get it right on the day, this team can go with anyone.
Wayne leaves Suncorp with his club's first and most important win over the Broncos. A chance to end his Dolphins tenure with an exclamation point. Bragging rights over a team with which he enjoyed the most meaningful of romances, and harshest of breakups.
And vindication. As if he still needs it.
The fireworks outside the ground erupt with about five minutes left, the fuse of this contest having long since fizzled. Herbie has a tidy double and Trai Fuller's tackle breaks have burst into double figures. Brisbane's capitulation is complete, the city swaps hands, and thoughts turn to a 2024 post mortem that needs to hone in on a lot of things. Indeed, a few of those things stand out after yet another display far beneath what a rational footy judge would expect from this calibre of team sheet.
Ability is rarely questioned, and nor should it be. More relevant is roster balance. Has Kevvy overestimated the burden that can be carried by the likes of Haas and Carrigan? Has he fallen a bit short in genuine NRL-quality depth in his halves and outside backs? Has he nailed his dummy-half rotation? And what about the attitude? How does a team talk itself out of success the way the 2024 Broncos have, and slide so simply into complacency?
Walters will have time to answer this, just how much time is unclear ahead of a final round date with minor premiers and perennial conquerors Melbourne. At some point he'll be asked to explain a season that will be remembered for a couple of particularly damaging things. An inability to pull themselves out of a hole. A catastrophic loss of match purchase when Reynolds' kicking game is missing, and desertion of confidence when the skipper is absent. The erosion of attacking threat minus Reece Walsh, and the inability of a genuinely world class forward pack to consistently win the wrestle with opposition at both ends of the competition ladder. Alongside all of it -- a consistent trend of underestimating opponents, which began with the lethargic pre-Origin series loss to the Titans in round 12, and has continued since.
A whole lot of questions, and a very big mess.