Broncos follow Storm’s lead to get smart about the artful science of roster construction

It’s a mix of art and science, with a healthy dose of clairvoyance, but the importance of roster construction can be seen in the two line-ups that will take the field on Sunday in the NRL grand final.

For the Storm, it’s a continuation of the status quo but for the Broncos, the fact that they have now made two premiership deciders in the space of three seasons is remarkable considering the mess they were in just a few years earlier.

Brisbane had to offload several stars, and not so talented squad members, due to the mismanagement of their roster and were contributing to player salaries at other clubs.

This was due to overpaying for talent that was already on their roster and hanging onto veterans well past their use-by date.

It culminated in the disastrous 2020 campaign which ended in the club’s only wooden spoon and the exit of coach Anthony Seibold less than two seasons into a lucrative long-term deal.

A lengthy series of experienced big names were shuffled out the door to other clubs, many with seasons left on their inflated deals, in Josh McGuire, James Roberts, Kodi Nikorima, Andrew McCullough, Joe Ofahengaue, Matt Lodge, Tom Dearden, Jack Bird, Tevita Pangai jnr and Anthony Milford.

David Fifita was lured by a golden offer to go down the Coast to the Titans, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the Broncos, Darius Boyd retired at least a year too late (due to the club giving him a longer offer than necessary) while young guns Xavier Coates and Reece Walsh jumped ship to Melbourne and the Warriors respectively.

The combination of Walsh’s return in 2023, following on from the acquisition of Adam Reynolds after he fell into their lap due to South Sydney’s shortsightedness, and the rise of Payne Haas and Patrick Carrigan, turned Brisbane into title contenders, which made last year’s 12th-placed finish a sufficient enough reason for the board to punt Kevin Walters in favour of Michael Maguire.

Such is their stranglehold on the talent pipeline in south-eastern Queensland, they should never have to splash too much cash for recruits from other clubs.

The Broncos have done well in getting value out of lesser lights like Corey Jensen, Tyson Smoothy, Gehamat Shibasaki, Josiah Karapani and Jack Gosiewski to complement their nucleus of stars.

As has become their custom, Melbourne have rejuvenated their roster on the run and barely missed a beat at the pointy end of the ladder.

Remember a few years back when they were supposed to be headed for a rebuilding period when the Big Three of Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk and Cameron Smith rode off into the sunset.

It was not just those all-time greats but Tino Fa’asuamaleui, Josh Addo-Carr, Dale Finucane, Nicho Hynes, Jesse and Kenny Bromwich, Suliasi Vunivalu, Felise Kaufusi, Brandon Smith, Christian Welch and Justin Olam who have left the club since their grand final win over Penrith five years ago.

In fact, there are only three members from that premiership-winning team – Ryan Papenhuyzen, Cameron Munster, Jahrome Hughes – who will be wearing purple on Sunday night at Accor Stadium.

Front-rower Nelson Asofa-Solomona could have been a fourth but he has been suspended from the grand final for a second year in a row.

The Storm have not made any major purchases in their rebuild apart from ex-Broncos winger Xavier Coates and Tigers prop Stefano Utoikamanu.

But they have reloaded with young talent that they have scouted as teenagers or players undervalued at other clubs like Nick Meaney, Josh King, Eliesa Katoa and Shawn Blore.

Trent Loeiro, Will Warbrick, Tyran Wishart, Jack Howarth and Tui Kamikamica have made it into the representative ranks or they are well on their way after getting their start at the Storm.

And the good news for each club is they will retain the majority of their first-choice line-ups next year.

Smoothy is on the move from the Broncos to Wakefield Trinity and Kamikamica, who is without a deal for next season, are the only players of the 34 in action on Sunday who won’t be at their respective clubs next year.

Storm back-up utility back Grant Anderson is joining the Broncos, who are saying farewell to former Maroons winger Selwyn Cobbo, who is off to the Dolphins after falling down Maguire’s pecking order.

It’s a sure sign that a club has struck the right balance in their roster management when they can make a grand final and not be in a situation where they have to shed players to squeeze under the salary cap.

The Storm have made the playoffs 15 times in a row and only finished outside the top four twice so it’s safe to say they’ve perfected the formula.

But for Brisbane, the NRL’s richest club has started showing more sense than dollars in recent years to become a juggernaut once again just a few years after the worst season in their 37-year history.

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