Brisbane players are refusing to talk about last year’s Grand Final loss to Penrith in the lead-up to Thursday’s showdown between the two sides.
Rather than use the 26-24 defeat at Accor Stadium last October as motivation, Brisbane are instead opting to ignore it.
When asked what he learned from the final 20 minutes of last year’s Grand Final, where a Nathan Cleary master class stole victory from the Broncos, hooker Billy Walters said today: “Nah, that’s last year. We’re not worried about that. We’re worried about this weekend. It’s a new competition this year and we’re hoping it’s a great game.”
When pressed, Walters said there was no specific ban, but he wouldn’t talk about the Grand Final.
“We can’t dwell on last year. That was last year,” he said.
Broncos players banned from talking about last year’s grand final because they’re playing the Panthers this week. Seriously?
— Adam Hawse (@AdamHawse) March 18, 2024
“We’re excited for this year. Hopefully we can get a win this weekend.
“There’s no ban. We just don’t want to talk about it. We’re not playing in a Grand Final this weekend, we’re playing for two points.”
Penrith will hold a media session tomorrow where it’s understood players will be allowed to talk about the Grand Final.
Troy Dodds
Troy Dodds is the Weekender's Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia's leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.