“I wouldn’t say I put to bed a few demons,” Reynolds said in reference to that infamous miss in South Sydney colours.
“But you want those kicks over again for sure … they are moments in your career that you learn from and I certainly learnt from that a few years ago.
“It was just the process, it’s something that I have been practising for a hell of a long time.
“I knew once we scored the try that I had to separate the emotion from what was going on at the time.
“I didn’t separate the emotion from the actual kick (in 2021).
“It’s something that has been going over my head for a long time if I got the opportunity again, to shut off completely and just focus on the basics and making sure I had good contact with the ball and just go through my routine.
“I have been practising that since I was a little kid, at Waterloo Oval, back home. I replicated that in my mind a thousand times and to nail that kick was a good feeling.”
Penrith’s dynasty hits pause, but is by no means over given Penrith’s rise from last to being within a few minutes of yet another grand final.
“We’ve still got so much class here, so much youth here,” co-captain Isaah Yeo said. “Christ, we showed some fight throughout the season.”
For so much of Sunday’s contest, the Panthers looked set to march on yet again. Fittingly, it was Reynolds again who stepped up first with the first salvo of the fightback, sneaking a grubber through for Kotoni Staggs to put Brisbane on the board.
A sold-out, 52,491-strong Suncorp Stadium went “feral” in the well-chosen words of sideline eye Brad Fittler, and the masses were a factor ever more. And never more so when the Broncos grimly defended their line – a bloodied, exhausted, unbeaten Payne Haas cramping all the while – to keep Penrith at bay.
Kotoni Staggs scored a try for Brisbane.Credit: Getty Images
When a Nathan Cleary grubber amounted to nothing, Brisbane marched downfield. Cleary’s next involvement, an attempted intercept, landed with hulking interchange prop Xavier Willison, who duly plunged over.
Walsh thumped a very kickable attempt into the post. So, 14-10, it went inside the final nine minutes.
“Feral” wasn’t the right f-word for the crowd’s reaction. When full-time rolled around, the stadium shook with elation, Suncorp’s western grandstand rocking.
Who could blame these fans, given the way Brisbane clawed this one back? Penrith’s dominance of the first half had only one result looming.
The Broncos attacking wares were kept thoroughly under wraps. The Panthers dominated field position and eventually possession, and slowly picked Brisbane’s defence apart.
Ben Hunt was suckered into a defensive misstep by Mitch Kenny in the 10th minute, an overlap emerged, and Alamoti was diving over in the corner, with Cleary nailing the sideline conversion for good measure.
Alamoti added his second late in the half with another slick right-side shift. But in hindsight, Penrith should have walked away with more considering their first-half dominance.
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By the 27th minute, Haas had only three runs and 28 running metres – Penrith had enjoyed all the ball. By game’s end, the NRL’s best big man had a stupendous 186 metres to his name with 46 tackles and not a single miss.
As Haas grew into the contest, Cleary blinked for the first time in memory on the biggest club stage. Penrith’s champion No.7 appeared to be in two minds at times, whereas Brisbane’s playmakers nailed their moments.
A date with Melbourne now awaits so many of the Broncos burned in 2023.
Coach Michael Maguire is on his way, too, of course. Despite winning a title with South Sydney in 2014, this was his first finals series in a decade.
He now comes up against Craig Bellamy – the coach who gave him his first start in the NRL – and the Storm system he has admired so much.
Fittingly, Brisbane has had to stop Penrith to get there.
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