The Broncos bounced back to the top four, overcoming injuries and a rocky season.
Sliding into the top four after a massive win over the Melbourne Storm in Round 27, the Broncos had an up and down season. They started strong, winning five of their first eight games, before hitting a rough patch, losing four straight games - a poor performance against Manly in Round 13 (losing 34-6) making it seem like their campaign might just be over. For the rest of the home and away season, across twelve matches, Brisbane only lost twice - Round 21 against the Eels and Round 23 against the Storm. They found their form, despite having a plethora of injuries banking up. The qualifying final victory against the Raiders was one for the ages, and somehow despite 'losing' twice, they came out on the other side, booking a home preliminary final up at the Cauldron.
Michael Maguire has named a slightly changed side, with many core players returning from injury. Adam Reynolds returns to halfback, which shifts Ben Hunt to five-eighth in place of injured Billy Walters. With Pat Carrigan out with a one game suspension, Tyson Smoothy moves into starting lock. Ezra Mam and Xavier Willison join the bench, which sees freshly re-signed interchange forward Jaiyden Hunt drop out of the starting 17.