BRISBANE BRONCOS 0 PENRITH PANTHERS 26
TOM SMITH, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Friday
PENRITH kicked off their pursuit to reclaim the premiership in emphatic style, shutting out reigning champions Brisbane on their home turf.
A little over six months since these sides played out a memorable preliminary final at the same venue, the sequel failed to live up to the original.
The visitors led from start to finish to silence the mammoth Suncorp Stadium crowd.
Nathan Cleary was his usual composed self, Dylan Edwards ran for a mountain of metres at fullback and Isaiah Papali’i offered plenty of punch in the back row.
Thomas Jenkins grabbed two tries after being brought in for Izack Tago before kick-off.
The Broncos’ ended the Panthers’ run of four straight titles last year and this result exacted a small measure of revenge.
The Panthers led 18-0 at the break – but unlike the stirring prelim last September, the Broncos couldn’t conjure a second-half miracle.
The loss continues Brisbane’s rocky start to 2026, following their defeat to Hull KR in February’s World Club Challenge.
Neither Michael Maguire nor Ivan Cleary had major personnel changes over the off-season.
The only players Maguire lost from the 17 that beat Melbourne in last October’s decider were subs Kobe Hetherington to Manly and Tyson Smoothy to Wakefield.
The premiership-winning coach opted for Ben Hunt to start in the halves instead of Ezra Mam, who was named on the six-man bench. Powerful back-rower Brendan Piakura was sidelined with a meniscus tear.
Cleary also didn’t farewell any key pieces of his starting 13, although his interchange had a new look with Jack Cogger coming in from the Knights and Kalani Going and Freddy Lussick arriving from the Warriors.
Fearsome second-rower Liam Martin missed out with a calf issue, while key man Cleary escaped suspension for dangerous contact in Penrith’s trial game against Wests Tigers.
A Cleary bomb set up the Panthers’ opening score after just five minutes. Star fullback Reece Walsh couldn’t handle the spiralling kick, which ended up with Casey McLean touching down in the left corner.
The men in pink made it two with a quarter of the game gone, when Edwards stepped through the under-siege Broncos defence, just moments after spilling another opportunity.
Cleary added another two points thanks to a Ben Talty high shot.
Then on the stroke of half-time, stand-off Blaize Talagi chipped a perfect kick onto the chest of the unmarked Thomas Jenkins, who made no mistake with the put-down.
After an error-riddled first half, the Broncos struggled to make any meaningful inroads early in the second.
It took 20 minutes for Cleary to extend the Panthers’ lead following an offside infringement.
Kotoni Staggs, Xavier Willison and Payne Haas all came close for the hosts, but Penrith desperately defended their clean sheet.
And with the result already assured, Jenkins added a second late – and Cleary nailed the kick to put the finishing touches on the 26-0 rout.
GAMESTAR: Dylan Edwards scored a stunning first-half try and racked up a dizzying 260 running metres.
GAMEBREAKER: Thomas Jenkins’ intercept try at the death – his second – wrapped up the Panthers’ emphatic victory.
MATCHFACTS
BRONCOS
1 Reece Walsh
2 Josiah Karapani
3 Kotoni Staggs
4 Gehamat Shibasaki
5 Deine Mariner
14 Ben Hunt
7 Adam Reynolds
8 Corey Jensen
9 Cory Paix
10 Payne Haas
11 Jack Gosiewski
12 Jordan Riki
13 Patrick Carrigan
Subs (all used)
6 Ezra Mam
15 Xavier Willison
16 Ben Talty
17 Aublix Tawha
18 Grant Anderson (not used)
21 Jaiyden Hunt (not used)
PANTHERS
1 Dylan Edwards
2 Paul Alamoti
18 Thomas Jenkins
4 Casey McLean
5 Brian To’o
6 Blaize Talagi
7 Nathan Cleary
8 Moses Leota
9 Mitch Kenny
10 Lindsay Smith
12 Luke Garner
16 Isaiah Papali’i
13 Isaah Yeo
Subs (all used)
3 Izack Tago (not used)
11 Scott Sorensen
14 Jack Cogger
17 Kalani Going
19 Freddy Lussick (not used)
20 Billy Phillips
Tries: McLean (6), Edwards (20), Jenkins (40, 75)
Goals: Cleary 5/6
SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-4, 0-10, 0-12, 0-18; 0-20, 0-26
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Broncos: Payne Haas; Panthers: Dylan Edwards
Penalty count: 2-8
Half-time: 0-18
Referee: Adam Gee
Attendance: 45,566