The Broncos and Storm collide at Suncorp Stadium in Round 27 with every chance both sides could meet again in Week 1 of the finals after locking in top four finishes for 2023.
Brisbane is on track for their first minor premiership in 23 years with victory over the Storm guaranteeing top spot on the Telstra Premiership ladder after the Panthers surrendered a game against Parramatta last week.
Melbourne locked in a top four spot thanks to Newcastle's defeat of the Sharks with Craig Bellamy's side a chance of leapfrogging the Warriors if they're able to topple the Broncos and hope the Dolphins beat the New Zealand side.
The most likely scenario is two matches between the clubs in the next fortnight, presenting an intriguing situation for both coaches to ponder who to play and what sort of tactics to use in the final round.
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Team news
Broncos: Will take the field as named on Tuesday, with Josh Rogers and Blake Mozer making their NRL debuts and Tristan Sailor playing his fourth game of the season at fullback. Veteran big man Martin Taupau returns on the bench for his first game since Round 21, adding some much-needed experience to the 'Baby Broncos'.
Storm: No further late changes following the withdrawal of Will Warbrick and Eliesa Katoa, who were set to be two of the more experienced players on the park for Melbourne. Joe Chan will make his NRL debut off the bench, while Jack Howarth starts in his first outing in the top flight. Exciting youngster Sualauvi Faalogo is part of an interchange that also includes Alec MacDonald and Aaron Pene.
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Stat Attack
- The Storm have won their past 13 matches against the Broncos dating back to 2017 while the Broncos have not defeated the Storm at Suncorp Stadium since 2009.
- The Broncos have won only two of their past six games at Suncorp.
- The Broncos will play their 900th game since entering the premiership in 1988.
- The Broncos’ winning percentage since 1988 stands at 59.5 (535 wins from 899 games). Only the Storm (66.4 per cent) have a higher historical winning record.
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Stats supplied by David Middleton, League Information Services, author of the official annual of the NRL.