Brisbane secured an unwanted piece of NRL history after they were thrashed 50-12 by a magnificent Melbourne outfit that gave coach Craig Bellamy his 400th win in charge.
The Broncos turned it up on Thursday night in front of 35,086 fans at Suncorp Stadium in a dire defensive display to ensure they finish 12th on the ladder this season.
Last year’s grand finalists were second in 2023 and have fallen a stunning 10 positions in one year, the worst slide in their 36-year history.
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Coach Kevin Walters said the display wasn’t up to standard, just like the season.
“It’s just been a tough year, a disappointing year for everyone involved in the club,” he said.
“I just need some time now to fix the place up. I’ve got some opinions myself, but I’ll keep my emotions in check just at the moment and we’ll … get our review started on Monday.”
Minor premiers the Storm made 10 line breaks in the first half to lead 28-6 at the break, with fullback Sua Fa’alogo on fire. Winger Will Warbrick and half Jahrome Hughes, who both scored hat-tricks, were in rampant form.
Fa’alogo, who replaced the injured Ryan Papenhuyzen, tormented the Broncos with his scintillating kick returns until he limped off with a possible hamstring injury in the second half.
“We are not quite sure how bad it is,” coach Craig Bellamy said.
“He thought he heard a pop in his hamstring. I don’t think he’s had a major injury before but the medical staff don’t seem to think it is too bad. We will just have to wait and have a scan.”
The Storm had second-rower Eliesa Katoa put on report and sin-binned for a shot on Broncos fullback Tristan Sailor in the 62nd minute.
Hughes confirmed his status as the in-form No.7 in the competition in another masterclass.
It was hard to fathom that the Broncos had beaten the Storm 26-0 in a semi-final at the same venue just 12 months earlier.
Coach Kevin Walters had asked his side to play with pride in the jersey before Thursday’s match, but there was none of that on show.
Warbrick busted a pathetic attempt at tackle by Brisbane five-eighth Josh Rogers to open the scoring in the 10th minute, and had another barnstorming burst three minutes later.
Hughes threw a scintillating short side pass to Warbrick and backed up to score in a 70m burst.
Storm behemoth Katoa then burst through threadbare defence.
A bright spot in the gloom for the Broncos this season has been the flair of bench hooker Blake Mozer, who put on an old-fashioned run-around move to send Rogers in.
More non-existent defence from Brisbane allowed hooker Harry Grant to cruise over on the cusp of the break.
The carnage continued in the second half, with Fa’alogo setting up winger Xavier Coates for a try, Hughes bagging two more and Warbrick adding to his tally.
The Broncos were like turnstiles in defence and have ended the season conceding 607 points. This season is just the third time in their history they have given up 600 points, with 2020 (624 points) and 2022 (695 points) the other two.
