Brisbane coach Kevin Walters has fired the first shot ahead of Friday night’s historic top of the table derby clash by declaring: “We are not rivals of the Dolphins, we are the Broncos”.
With the NRL’s 17th team yet to taste to defeat and the Broncos having won their opening three matches for the first time since 2009, the Battle of Brisbane is set to be the most anticipated premiership match played in the Queensland capital.
The Broncos have not have a cross-town rival since the demise of the South Queensland Crushers in 1997 after three bitter seasons in which the two Brisbane teams were on opposite sides of the Super League war.
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However, the Dolphins are an established club with 75 years of history and the match is all but guaranteed to be a 52,000 sell-out at Suncorp Stadium.
“I guess that’s why the Dolphins were put in Brisbane, to create that rivalry,” Walters said after the Broncos raced in four tries in the last nine minutes to beat St George Illawarra 40-18 on Saturday night.
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“Our mindset is that we are the Broncos. I haven’t even thought about next week to be honest. We have got some things we need to fix up so we will work hard and get ready for the team we are playing next week.”
However, Broncos players left no doubt after the game that their first match against the Dolphins was already on their mind and captain Adam Reynolds even suggested that may have been a reason for the team’s lacklustre first half performance.
“We are looking forward to it. I don’t know if that was the reason why we had a slow start tonight but we will take what we can out of this game, looking at where we need to improve in our training and obviously show up next week for a big clash,” Reynolds said.
“It is going to be a big one, we all know that. The talk has been through the media all week and I am sick of hearing about it, to be honest. It is going to be a great thing for Brisbane.“
Broncos team-mates spoke about their new rivals without being prompted in post-match interviews on Fox Sports.
“We have got a big challenge next week against Redie [Redciffe], they are undefeated as well so it is a good challenge for us,” star prop Payne Haas said.
“It is a derby, so we have to be up for it, and we know they are going to be up for it.”
Kotoni Staggs, who scored two tries against the Dragons, said: “It’s going to be a big game for Brisbane so we have got to be ready for what they are going to throw at us”.
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The connections between the two clubs run deep, with Dolphins mentor Wayne Bennett having been the foundation coach of the Broncos in 1988.
Bennett led the club to their six premierships in 1992, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2006, with Walters playing in all but the last grand final triumph.
However, Bennett left on acrimonious terms in 2018 and after two disappointing seasons under Anthony Seibold, whose Manly team are the only other undefeated side in the NRL, Walters was given charge of the Broncos in 2021.
Reynolds also has a relationship with Bennett after being the South Sydney halfback and captain during his three year stint with the club, which ended after the 2021 grand final.
Asked if Bennett would have the Dolphins pumped up to play the Broncos, Reynolds said: “Yes, I think so. It would be silly not to say that”.
Walters added: “We both know Wayne. It is going to be a good spectacle and it is good for the game”.