Brisbane have stunned ladder leaders Canterbury at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday night, flogging the Bulldogs 42-18 in front of more than 40,000 fans to open the NRL's annual ANZAC Round on a night of chaos and teeming rain.
Moments before kick-off, the hairs on everyone's arms were raised as the sounds of a trumpet drowned the stadium at Suncorp Stadium. Its seats were filled with fans of two franchises believing a top 4 finish is achievable.
A bizarre opening from the Dogs as they shifted the ball well within their half in the opening set of the contest despite the greasy conditions, resulting in an early and unforgivable error.
Reynolds began his 5-star night with a simple under's ball to send Xavier Willison crashing over for the opening score.
Walters sensed the off-put Bulldogs and went for an early 40/20, the first of two from Brisbane.
The Bulldogs began to fight back before the Broncos props combined with soft hands to link up with their Halfback, Reynolds who lunged out to score and suffered a shoulder injury. Which wouldn't cause concern until the closing moments of the match.
Trying to turn the tide, Josh Curran raced up and got it all wrong making contact on the head of a Broncos attacker and having to sit in the sin bin for 10 minutes.
3 tries in 15 minutes from Brisbane saw them kick out to an emphatic 28-0 lead against a team that had not conceded a single point in back-to-back weeks.
Reynolds continued the barrage as he planted a delectable 40/20 on route to Jesse Arthars scoring the 6th of the night for the home side.
Things went from bad to worse for Canterbury as they had to see Sitili Tupouniua leave the field for their second player sent for a Sin Bin Trip in the opening 40.
HT Brisbane 34-0 Canterbury.
Keeping in mind that no team has gone on to win the premiership when conceding 50 points in a single game, Coach Cameron Ciraldo's message could not be simpler. "Don't concede points."
They finally got on the board through Marcelo Montoya in the 47th minute.
The Dogs players were seemingly joining the crowd as they had a third sent to the bin. The most in such a short time frame since the infamous "Sin-Bin Sunday" in 2022.
Canterbury continued mounting a comeback as Jacob Preston followed up some sublime sky-high acrobatics from Jacob Kiraz. The deficit was now 22 points as Canterbury dared to dream.
A few errors crept into the Broncos game, leaving the door the slightest bit ajar as Xerri finished off some crisp work from Kikau and Hayward.
Reynolds finally did succumb to the pain of that shoulder injury 5 minutes from time.
A late penalty goal from Selwyn Cobbo, followed by a grubber kick through from Paix to Walters, meant that the Broncos would not leave the second half in Suncorp empty-handed.
But the job was done in the first half, the Broncos studied the tape tirelessly during the week and it showed. The Bulldogs had no answer. And once Josh Curran went off it felt like a case of all-over red-rover before the game truly began.