The Brisbane Broncos have farewelled the Gabba in style, running out emphatic 54-10 winners over last year's grand finalists Parramatta to send out a message to their rivals that they are going to take some beating in 2023.
Skipper Adam Reynolds led the way for the home side, having a hand in several tries and also kicking his 1,000th career goal in the victory. The Broncos backline was simply electric with a plethora of highlight reel plays in what at times looked like a training run.
The loss for the Eels was further compounded for the Eels with star half Mitchell Moses failing to return from the sheds for the second half with a suspected fractured cheekbone, which could prove to be a catastrophic blow to their faint finals hopes which are now on life support.
All eyes coming into the match were on marquee prop Payne Haas, who was playing his 100th first grade match and early dominance from himself and Pat Carrigan set the tone for the Broncos early and they were first to register points when former Bronco Joe Ofahenguae was penalised for a strip. Skipper Adam Reynolds pointed to the posts and took the gift two points on offer.
The Broncos then scored the first try of the night and it was all class, as star fullback Reece Walsh rushed the short side and put Kurt Capewell down the sideline. Capewell then kicked inside to find Reynolds who collected a superb bounce, evaded the cover defence and raced away to score under the posts.
Brisbane then started to click into gear, when they marched upfield with ease before Billy Walters darted out of dummy half close to the line, stepping past two Eels defenders to extend the lead to 12-0.
Parramatta again found themselves unable to halt the Broncos onslaught, when skipper Clint Gutherson made an error from a kick. Off the ensuing scrum, Walsh then delivered a superb pass to an unmarked Deine Mariner who scored in the corner.
With the second-placed Broncos flexing their muscle, things got worse just before halftime when Deine Mariner plucked an intercept out of thin air and found Herbie Farnworth who set sail for the line. Mitchell Moses then brought down Farnworth just short of the try line, but the England centre slipped out of the tackle and rose to his feet to ‘moonwalk' his way over the line to give the home side a 24-0 lead at the break.
Brisbane picked up where they left off in the second half when Ezra Mam produced a lovely cut-out pass for Deine Mariner to score his second try. Minutes later Mam was involved again when the elusive five-eighth collected a Kurt Capewell offload to give the home side an unassailable 36-0 lead with over half an hour left in the match.
Things started to get very ugly for the Eels, when Billy Walters collected his first career double, after collecting a grubber from Deine Mariner and winning a wrestle with Mam to get the ball down.
Last year's Grand Finalists were now playing for pride and finally managed to trouble the scoreboard when winger Sean Russell dived over to score a spectacular try in the corner to narrow the score slightly at 42-4.
Brisbane resumed normal transmission however with a try to Kurt Capewell and another flashy try to Reece Walsh in between a late Dylan Brown try for the Eels to see the scoreline end in a 54-10 drubbing as the Broncos head into the bye next round.
Parramatta now head back to CommBank Stadium where they host the Roosters next Friday night.