Brisbane Broncos headed to Melbourne to face the Storm fresh from a 60-point thrashing of the Rabbitohs and with renewed confidence in their ability to sneak into the Top 4 and seriously challenge for the premiership. They left town with three hamstring injuries to key players and more questions than answers.
The opening exchanges were exactly what you would expect from this "finals preview". Hard-running forwards hitting the line, and slick ball work from the backs probing the edge defenders. Harry Grant set up one of the first raids down the right side after three minutes, a centering kick was juggled by the Broncos and dropped by Tyran Wishart.
As brilliant as the Grant-orchestrated attack was, the scrambling Broncos defence was able to handle it. Then in the 14th minute, Payne Haas picked up a loose ball deep in his own half and took off downfield on a winding run, offloaded to Gehamat Shibasaki who was knocked down before rising and finding Reece Walsh who was then pulled up for throwing a forward pass to Selwyn Cobbo.
In the midst of another man-of-the-match performance, Grant shoved a Broncos player into the ruck to give away a penalty and the first two points of the night to Brisbane.
With the ball, the Broncos' timing looked slightly off, including Walsh's forward pass. In another example, well on the attack, Ezra Mam tried to lob a pass to his winger only to have Xavier Coates snatch the ball out of the air and take off on a 90-metre run which ended with Cobbo doing enough to force him onto the sideline at the same time as grounding it.
The bigger news from the play was the game-ending hamstring injuries to both Adam Reynolds and Mam. Mam started limping after tripping at the beginning of the run, while Reynolds was a more typical 'sniper shot' response to his hamstring completely giving way while in full stride.
The importance of the two competition points became secondary to concerns for the two star halves. With them both off the field Billy Walters came on to play hooker, while Ben Hunt moved to halfback and Kotoni Staggs into five-eighth.
With the Broncos in disarray, Grant Anderson outleapt the defence to take a bomb. In the ensuing play the ball was sent to the right where Wishart beat several tackles to reach out and score the first try. In the background, Cobbo lay on the turf clutching at his ankle. An already bad night had taken another turn, although Cobbo hobbled on.
With just over two minutes before halftime, Ryan Papenhuyzen made Jordan Riki's defence look ordinary, sweet-stepping his way to the Storm's second try.
Seven minutes into the second half a Broncos short dropout was scooped back by Payne Haas towards Walsh who was tentative and had the ball stripped by Nick Meaney who dived over to score. The bunker found the most minute of knock-ons by the Storm centre and the try was disallowed. The Storm were given the ball and the Broncos gallantly repelled another attacking set.
The Broncos then enjoyed a period of sustained possession in attack, and threw everything they had at the Storm line, but could not crack it. Without Reynolds and Mam, they lost both direction and spark. Hunt was trying his best in his old position, but Walsh, who should have provided more of the spark, was still playing like a superstar poorly out of form.
With 18 minutes remaining in the game it was the Storm's turn in attack and Grant was simply too good, throwing a cut out pass onto the chest of Coates who would not be denied this time.
The Storm weren't finished, as they worked on improving their for and against record. It was Coates again who brought down a bomb short of the line before reaching out to score. The bunker was involved again, ruling a double movement, but also a penalty try because he was tackled in the air. The conversion took the Storm to the final 22-2 score line.
As the Broncos messed up a chance for a Deine Mariner consolation try, Cobbo was helped from the field, this time clutching at his hamstring. The third Broncos player struck down by the vulnerable group of muscles and tendons in one night.
The loss extended a nine-year drought for Brisbane in Melbourne, with the Storm winning 18 of their past 19 clashes overall.
Brisbane not only failed to advance in their pursuit of a Top 4 finish, they lost the two players who are absolutely key to achieving that vital goal. Reynolds has been pivotal to their every success this season. While the severity of his tear was being determined, the way he pulled up, coupled with his age, would suggest we'll be lucky to see him again before the finals, if at all this year.
Mam's on field reaction didn't seem as severe, so his recovery might be shorter. As for Cobbo, he left the field battered, after a courageous effort, playing through the pain of an ankle injury before doing his hamstring, his prognosis uncertain.
It has been a mixed season for the Broncos. They won four out of their first five games, before losing to the Roosters and Warriors. They then spanked the Bulldogs in the rain and proceeded to lose the next four games against the Panthers, Rabbitohs, Dragons, and Sea Eagles. They thumped the Titans and went on to win the next four games before losing to the Eels and then thumping the Rabbitohs. They seem to find their groove before hitting hurdles against teams they really should beat.
They now face the Dolphins, Knights, Cowboys and Storm again, with serious doubts about the availability of Reynolds, Mam, and Cobbo. Coach Michael Maguire will need to cobble together some kind of combination capable of winning at the very least two of those games. The pursuit of a Top 4 spot is over, they now must focus completely on avoiding an ignominious fall from the Top 8.