Brisbane have fallen short in their bid to end a 17-year NRL title drought, with the Panthers pulling off the greatest comeback in grand final history with a 26-24 triumph on Sunday night at Accor Stadium.
Penrith opened the scoring through Mitch Kenny, who pounced on a botched short dropout to cross for his first try of the year, before Broncos enforcer Tom Flegler barged his way over just before the break to narrow the margin.
Ezra Mam's second-half hat-trick looked set to give the Broncos the win, but a late surge led by Nathan Cleary secured a three-peat for Penrith.
The Sporting News rates every Brisbane player's performance from Sunday night's decider below.
1. Reece Walsh - 6
The whiz kid had a mixed night in his maiden grand final, setting up a beautiful try for Ezra Mam in the second-half, but also coming up with three errors and some untimely blunders in his own end. The 21-year-old finished with 10 tackle breaks and two linebreaks, as well as over 120 run metres. Walsh will only be better for the experience of playing in a decider and will likely taste premiership glory later in his career.
2. Jesse Arthars - 8
The winger barely put a foot wrong the entire night, making two linebreaks in the first-half and proving to be dominant out of the backfield, as well as coming up with some strong defensive reads. Arthars finished with over 170 run metres and four tackle breaks in his first grand final.
3. Kotoni Staggs - 5
Staggs was at his powerful best on Sunday night, making some damaging carries, but also came up with a costly first-half mistake and missed five tackles for the Broncos.
4. Herbie Farnworth - 7.5
The departing centre looked to be one of the most dangerous players on the field all night long, breaking eight tackles and notching over 175 run metres. Farnworth was equally as effective in defence, keeping opposing speedster Izack Tago at bay throughout the course of the 80 minutes. The Englishman did come up with three errors in his final game, but the good certainly outweighed the bad.
5. Selwyn Cobbo - 5.5
Cobbo was kept reasonably quiet throughout the night, but still ran for over 100 metres in a decent performance.
6. Ezra Mam - 9
Mam didn't feature much in first-half but came alive after the break, crossing for one of the best tries in grand final history before nabbing a hat-trick. His speed and footwork caused havoc for the Panthers and looked set to lead the Broncos to victory, but it wasn't to be. One of the best performances in a losing side in recent memory.
7. Adam Reynolds - 6
Lacked impact early on and suffered a groin injury in first-half but soldiered on. Reynolds didn't have the impact many expected and was unable to manage the game and help Brisbane keep hold of the lead.
8. Tom Flegler - 7.5
Dominant in the middle of the field and scored Brisbane's first try. Flegler's stats don't jump off the page - he finished with less than 100 run metres - but his impact was more than adequate.
9. Billy Walters - 5
Kicked a 40/20 in the first-half, but didn't make a great deal of difference other than that. Walters finished with 32 tackles but missed seven in a mixed night for the journeyman dummy-half.
10. Payne Haas - 8
One of the best players on the field, Haas played 66 minutes and ran for 150 metres, while his 40 tackles without a miss was trademark for the Broncos prop. Deserved a grand final victory for his efforts, but continued to prove why he is the best front-rower in the world.
11. Kurt Capewell - 5.5
The veteran forward lacked any real impact on the edge despite some nice touches, while also missing six tackles.
12. Jordan Riki - 7
Good in defence, dangerous with the ball. Riki capped off his best season in the top grade and will be better for the run in years to come.
13. Patrick Carrigan - 7.5
Tireless as always through the middle without making a major difference. Carrigan racked up over 140 run metres and 39 tackles, while spending just nine minutes on the bench the entire night,
14. Tyson Smoothy - 5.5
Set up Brisbane's first try with some deft work out of dummy-half and played 39 minutes, sharing the hooker role with Walters. Looked to be the more dangerous No.9 on the night for Brisbane.
15. Brendan Piakura - 3
Only received 21 minutes of game time and finished with two carries and 13 tackles.
16. Kobe Hetherington - 3
Spent less time on the field than any other Brisbane player and was unable to make a splash.
17. Keenan Palasia - 7
The departing enforcer had a solid outing in his first grand final appearance, running for more metres than any other Broncos forward and making 20 tackles in an impressive display off the bench.
