PENRITH PANTHERS 12 BRISBANE BRONCOS 14
CALLUM WALKER, CommBank Stadium, Sydney, Thursday

IN danger of becoming the first defending premiers to miss the NRL finals the following season since Wests Tigers in 2006, Brisbane posted their best performance of 2026 to stun Penrith.

Even with the win, the Broncos sit six points behind the top eight, but this display gives head coach Michael Maguire cause for optimism heading into the business end of the campaign.

Reece Walsh was on fire throughout, and it was his neat grubber kick that was pounced upon by Jordan Riki after just five minutes.

Walsh couldn’t convert, and the Broncos’ lead didn’t last long as the Panthers hit back with a Brian To’o effort in the corner. Nathan Cleary’s conversion put the hosts in front.

But, Brisbane were in no mood to let their grip of the game slip, Walsh picking up a loose ball and feeding Kotoni Staggs, who finished with aplomb.

Again Walsh missed the conversion as To’o’s second and a Cleary penalty sent Penrith into a 12-8 half-time lead.

Try as they might, it appeared as though the Broncos would come up short, but Walsh hit the power play to send over Josiah Karapani in the corner with 11 minutes remaining, duly converting to seal a narrow victory.

PANTHERS: 1 Dylan Edwards, 2 Tom Jenkins, 3 Paul Alamoti, 4 Casey McLean, 5 Brian To’o, 6 Blaize Talagi, 7 Nathan Cleary, 8 Moses Leota, 9 Freddy Lussick, 10 Lindsay Smith, 11 Isaiah Papali’i, 12 Liam Martin, 13 Isaah Yeo.

Subs: 14 Jack Cole (not used), 15 Scott Sorensen, 16 Liam Henry, 17 Billy Phillips, 18 Izack Tago (not used), 19 Billy Scott

Tries: To’o (13, 32); Goals: Cleary 2/3

BRONCOS: 1 Reece Walsh, 2 Josiah Karapani, 3 Kotoni Staggs, 4 Gehamat Shibasaki, 5 Deine Mariner, 6 Ezra Mam, 7 Adam Reynolds, 8 Xavier Willison, 9 Cory Paix, 10 Payne Haas, 11 Brendan Piakura, 12 Jordan Riki, 13 Patrick Carrigan.

Subs: 14 Ben Hunt, 15 Ben Talty, 16 Preston Riki, 17 Grant Anderson (not used), 18 Va’a Semu (not used), 19 Hayze Perham

Tries: Riki (5), Staggs (23), Karapani (69); Goals: Walsh 1/3

SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-4, 6-4, 6-8, 10-8, 12-8; 12-14

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Panthers: Brian To’o; Broncos: Reece Walsh

Penalty count: 2-7
Half-time: 12-8
Referee: Todd Smith
Attendance: 15,437