The Brisbane Broncos have kept their slim finals hopes alive after thwarting the first-placed Penrith Panthers on a wet night at CommBank Stadium.
The defending premiers welcomed back a plethora of star talent who rolled up their sleeves to snap an eight-game losing streak and start a backend season assault for September.
The club welcomed back Payne Haas, Reece Walsh, Adam Reynolds, Ezra Mam and Patrick Carrigan, with coach Michael Maguire insisting they can turn it around now they have the players back on deck after their upset win.
“Really pleased for the players and the staff; we've obviously gone through a bit over the last couple of months, but always believed that was inside them ... but we've obviously gotta keep doing it now,” Maguire said in his post-match press conference.
“People talk about what's missing, but we've actually been missing quite a few of our players who were actually out there today - that's the simple truth."
The two-time premiership-winning coach was full of praise for his returning stars who reminded everyone of their dangerous combination when they're all on the park.
“We had some unbelievable performances; Patty [Carrigan] came back, and he hasn't played for about six weeks. Payne hasn't played a whole heap of footy, Reyno hasn't played a whole heap, Ezra hasn't played a whole heap," he added.
“People have said things around us, but what I see at training every day is what I saw in the performance tonight. When you get players out there that you know you have, they all complement each other … people like Reece can come up with a performance like that off the back of what we do.
“I've said that every week. The fight that I've seen from the team and then the quality of players we put out there, you get a performance like that.”
Player of the Match Reece Walsh was in everything on Thursday night, recording three try assists, three line-break assists, and one line break.
The reigning Clive Churchill Medallist also stepped up to take the match-winning conversion from out-wide in the pouring rain to give the Broncos much-needed two points.
“We knew it was gonna be a really tough game and I'm really proud of the boys; it's been a while since we've had this feeling,” Walsh said on Nine's post-match coverage.
“It's been a tough couple of months for us boys, and you can see now what it really means to us. There's a lot of things being said about us and our club … I'm just really proud of the boys and their efforts tonight. We deserved that one.”
Phil Gould asked Walsh whose decision it was to take the final conversion of the match.
“Mine,” Walsh responded with a smirk.
“He took one off me last year, and I said the old legs have been out for a few weeks, so I'll let him rest up.”
Reynolds looked uncomfortable during the match, while also missing the first two conversions, which handed Walsh the chance to step up.
The Broncos just about have to win everything in front of them for the remainder of the regular season to keep in touch with the Top 8.
The defending premiers sit on six wins and 11 losses so far in 2026, and turn their attention towards travelling to Townsville to face the North Queensland Cowboys on Saturday week.
They must continue to be perfect following their trip north, with subsequent matches against Top 8 talent in the Knights, Dolphins and Warriors.
