Inside the Brisbane Broncos three-day interstate party after NRL and NRLW dual premiership glory

Brisbane’s three-day, cross-border celebration at smashing their 19-year title drought ended in a frantic search for silverware after the NRL and NRLW trophies went AWOL amid the revelry.

The trophies visited more pubs than Slim Dusty and were happily being passed around from player to player, with superstar Reece Walsh even captured sleeping with the Provan-Summons gong at one point.

But amid the alcohol-fuelled madness, the premierships suddenly vanished, sending Broncos insiders into a panic, sparking a frenzied search for the crowns the men and women’s teams claimed last Sunday on a memorable night for the NRL’s richest club.

In the end, the NRL trophy was tracked down in the safe hands of Kath Bennett, the daughter of foundation coach Wayne Bennett and the long-serving executive assistant to Brisbane’s CEOs.

At Brisbane’s awards night on Thursday, NRLW coach Scott Prince was asked on stage to explain why the women’s trophy was found in a sorry state, badly stained. With a wry smirk, Prince produced a masterful sidestep, changing the topic to praise his players.

“Both trophies went missing,” a Broncos insider told this masthead.

“Apparently that’s not unusual, but it caused a bit of a stir.

“A few of the players stayed at the clubhouse on Monday and it must have been snuggled up with one of them.

“Thankfully they have been found … the men’s trophy ended up near Kath’s desk.”

The NRL has a colourful and controversial history with trophy celebrations.

Canberra five-eighth Laurie Daley famously dropped the Winfield Cup off the back of a ute during a grand final parade following the Raiders’ historic first premiership win over Balmain in the 1989 grand final epic.

In 2021, the NRL issued a please explain to the Panthers after images emerged of them partying with a badly broken premiership trophy.

In one of Penrith’s social-media posts at the time, the sculpture of Norm Provan and Arthur Summons was torn away from the base, which rested in a pram with the caption “googoo gaga” on the image.

NRL bosses were furious with the Panthers, but they can breathe easy this time after the Broncos handled the trophies with enough care.

Broncos coach Michael Maguire admitted he couldn’t “go as hard as I used to” after Brisbane’s premiership celebrations started on the field at Accor Stadium after the men’s 26-22 defeat of the Storm and the women’s 22-18 upset of the Roosters.

In the change rooms, Broncos players began lighting up cigars - contravening the stadium’s no-smoking policy - before being ushered outside onto the field as smoke wafted among the masses.

Centre Kotoni Staggs turned Sydney Olympic Park groundsman, briefly using the line-marking machine as he walked up and down Accor.

The Broncos men and women kicked on at a Kings Cross nightclub until 3am before returning to their team hotel at Brighton at 7am on Monday morning.

By 11am, they had landed in Brisbane on a charter flight and were whisked to Suncorp Stadium where they were greeted by more than 10,000 Broncos fans going berserk.

Kobe Hetherington still had his playing boots on. Skipper Adam Reynolds was still in his beloved No.7 jumper.

“It’s been good, the city is buzzing,” said Reynolds, admitting that, at age 35, he was struggling to keep up with young guns Walsh and Ezra Mam.

“I’m not as good at partying as I used to be.

“It’s good to see the boys have a bit of fun together and bunker down.

“We went to a few different venues but it all just became a blur in the end. I was pretty dusty throughout it all but it’s good to sneak in a few hours sleep and recharge the batteries and go again.

“There’s a few sick and sorry boys but it was all worth it.

“It was good for us to celebrate a memory that will stay with us.

The Broncos’ celebrations moved to Brisbane’s West End, where Archive welcomed them with a congratulatory banner.

The Broncos party bus rolled onto the Boundary Hotel, followed by a private function at Lina Rooftop, complete with views of the Brisbane skyline and a luxurious pool.

Walsh turned ‘DJ Reece’ as he pumped out some beats while teammate Tyson Smoothy fell asleep on a bar lounge with his ski goggles doubling as a sleep mask.

Brisbane’s coaching staff of Maguire, Trent Barrett, Matt Ballin and Ben Te’o hit the eject button and caught up for a quiet steak at the Breakfast Creek Hotel on Tuesday afternoon.

The Broncos men and women looked surprisingly spritely at the club’s awards night at The Star Casino on Thursday, with Pat Carrigan conceding he is glad the party is over.

The Broncos ironman, who will leave for England in the coming days as part of the Australian squad for the first Ashes series in 22 years, rated veteran playmaker Ben Hunt as Brisbane’s No.1 party animal.

“I’m glad to see the back end of the week,” Carrigan said with a laugh.

“We’ve had a bit of fun.

“The best behaved has been Corey Jensen, he is a model citizen.

“He had a few beers the first night but he makes you feel like he’s a disappointed father by the back end of the week.

“We had a few guys giving it a real crack so it’s hard to split them.

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“I think ‘Dozer’ (Hunt) had the best day out of anyone.

“It hasn’t really sunk in, it’s a bit surreal.

“It’s special and when you see what it means to the Broncos fans and the people of Brisbane, it’s still sinking in.”