End of Season Reviews: The Warriors and Brisbane Broncos

09/16/2024 09:20 PM

As the 2024 NRL season nears its conclusion, it's time to look back on the teams that fell short of September and what they got right and wrong in their respective seasons.

In this edition, SEN will take a look at the Warriors and Brisbane Broncos who were both premiership fancies at the start of the season but failed to qualify for September footy.

The Warriors

Ladder: 13th
Record: 9-1-14 (-62)

After the highs of 2023, the Warriors came crashing back down to earth and struggled throughout the 2024 season. The main struggle for the Wahs was keeping the same 17 players on the park each week as injuries cursed this team significantly. Warriors players missed 140 games due to injury this season, the second most of any side in the competition. Injuries were not the only issue as stars such as Shaun Johnson and Addin Fonua-Blake failed to replicate their form from 2023. Additionally, the return of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck wasn't as smooth as first hoped.

The departures of Johnson, AFB and Jazz Tevaga hurt but the signing of James Fisher-Harris bodes well for the Warriors in 2025. This team can contend at their best but if 2024 has proven anything, it's that a lot has to go right for the Warriors to get there.

Highlight: Shaun Johnson's farewell

The announcement of SJ's retirement brought a tear to every NRL fan's eye and it seemed fitting that he would go out a winner against his former side Cronulla. Trailing 22-4 at halftime, the Kiwi great put in an iconic SJ performance to steer his side to a last second victory when he set up Dallin Watene-Zelezniak's third try in the corner and complete the fairytale ending.

Johnson ended the night with 176 running metres, three try assists, two line breaks, one line break assist and 503 kicking metres to go out on top. It's always great when a player bows out on their terms rather than father time catching up with them and SJ did just that in his final act as a Warrior.

Honourable Mentions: Magic Round win v Penrith

Lowlight: Gold Coast thumping

The Warriors travelled up to the Gold Coast sitting in 12th spot and were only a win outside the top eight. They then proceed to concede 66 points against a bottom ranked Titans outfit who did as they pleased in a romp. Gold Coast eclipsed their greatest ever winning margin with ease (44 points) and ran in 12 line breaks to one and ran for almost 800 metres more than the Warriors. Andrew Webster's men coughed the ball up 13 times and missed 44 tackles. Jayden Campbell (26 points) also broke Scott Prince's long-held record for most points in a game (20 points). It was the point in which the NRL realised that the Warriors of 2024 were not the same team we saw last year feature in a preliminary final.

Honourable Mentions: AFB stood down post Panthers win, Round 22 loss to Parramatta, Round 20 loss to Canberra

Best Player: Mitchell Barnett

The 30-year-old arguably had his best season to date in the NRL which earned him a NSW Blues Origin call-up for the successful 2024 campaign for NSW. Barnett averaged 149 running metres a game which was well above his output in his past 10 seasons. He completed his tackles at just shy 94% which was also a career high. While most of his teammates struggled in 2024, Barnett was consistently among the best performers for the Warriors.

Honourable Mentions: Te Maire Martin and Wayde Egan

What they need for 2025: A clean run

Injuries played their part in 2024 and Andrew Webster was never able to get the same team on the park . The addition of Fisher-Harris to an already formidable forward pack is reason enough for Wahs fans to feel optimistic. Tuivasa-Sheck suffered an identity crisis as the team was unsure what his best position was but another off-season should iron out those kinks.

Early 2025 prediction: 7th

Grade: D

Expectations were high for the Warriors but as has been the case, they failed to deliver back-to-back winning seasons and capitalise on the good will they had built the previous year. They should be better for it and play finals footy in 2025.

Brisbane Broncos

Ladder: 12th
Record: 10-14 (-70)

The Broncos entered the 2024 season as premiership favourites after they came perilously close to ending Penrith's bid for a three-peat of Premierships. After a poor start to the season in Las Vegas which was marred by controversy, the Broncos stuggled to get continuity and never really got going. The Broncos were sitting in fifth after 11 rounds with a 7-4 record but would sink to 7-10 to miss the finals entirely.

Unlike 2023, the Broncos suffered significant losses on the injury front to their star players which left quality players such as Reece Walsh, Adam Reynolds and Payne Haas on the sidelines for extended periods. The Origin period was particularly cruel and demonstrated the lack of depth at the Broncos. A number of blowout losses to end the season has the club asking serious questions this off-season about the personnel at Red Hill. It's set to be a long summer for the Broncos.

Highlight: An unlikely hero seals a Magic Round miracle

No Reece Walsh, no Adam Reynolds, no Jesse Arthars and no Billy Walters meant the Broncos arrived at Suncorp Stadium for Magic Round with a makeshift team as they dealt with injuries. After racing out to an early 12-0 after 11 minutes, the match became a grind before Manly locked the scores up with nine minutes remaining. Up steps Jock Madden who calmly slots the field goal to give the Broncos a crucial win. It would end up being their last win before the Broncos embarked on a staggering six-game losing streak.

Honourable Mentions: Round 23 win v Cowboys

Lowlight: Little brother clean sweeps the Broncos

In a season of several low points, the two losses to the Gold Coast Titans particularly stand out. Outside of the Broncos' wooden spoon season in 2020, the Titans had never swept their rivals but they put the Broncos to the sword in both their 2024 matchups.

Across the two matches, the Broncos conceded 82 points and let in 16 tries whilst allowing 15 line breaks and missing 71 tackles. The Broncos are the jewel of Queensland and to have their colours lowered to the lowly Titans was symbolic of how far this team fell in 2024.

Honourable Mentions: The final two rounds of the season, Round 21 loss v Bulldogs

Best Player: Deine Mariner

There weren't many players that enhanced their reputation for the Broncos in 2024 but Mariner had a strong year. Mariner crossed over for 17 tries which was the most of any Brisbane player and was equal fourth best in the competition. This included matches where he crossed over for two tries. The 21-year-old also led all Broncos players for the most line breaks with 17. Mariner solidified his spot in the Broncos' best 17 each week and played 21 games on the wing and in the centres. A great platform to build onto next year.

What they need for 2024: Cohesion

Everyone needs to be on the same page when they walk into day one of pre-season. It was evident that the squad had become disjointed in the last few weeks as players began to argue on field and the body language from players was poor. The most damning moment came in the Round 26 loss to the Dolphins where only two players celebrated with Pat Carrigan after the team's only try. The Broncos can't afford factions within the playing group otherwise 2025 will be another wasted season with dire consequences.

Early 2025 prediction: 3rd

Grade: F

Four minutes away from a Premiership to completely missing the eight is a failure and a waste of a season. The Broncos' roster is the envy of the competition and whilst they weren't entirely healthy this season, the team was not able to stop the rot during the middle part of the year and ultimately cost them a finals berth. 2025 is a clean slate and this team can and should be back playing finals footy.