Brisbane coach Kevin Walters and his players are confident the Broncos will win premierships if they learn a vital lesson from their 26-24 grand final loss to Penrith.
Having given up a 16-point lead late in the second half on Sunday, the Broncos say they will use the hurt to drive them next season.
The pain ran deep in the dressing room after the loss. Fullback Reece Walsh was too distraught to speak, a sign of how much he cares and what had just transpired.
The Broncos came back from an 8-6 halftime deficit to lead 24-8 with 24 minutes remaining after No.6 Ezra Mam scored three tries in 10 minutes, his third set up by Walsh with a blistering run.
"That 20 minutes at the start of the second half is the Broncos I know. We need to do that for 80," Walters said.
"We are not there yet, but when we do we will win premierships.
"We are not far off. We are a lot closer now than we were 12 months ago."
The Broncos came last in 2020. Walters took over as head coach and got them to a grand final in three years.
"Once the dust settles, everyone in that room can be proud of where the club is now compared to where it was ... it is just remarkable," Walters said.
"But we wanted to win the premiership this year, and that pisses us off."
Penrith lost the 2020 grand final to Melbourne and their players have said the lessons learned from that experience have been a factor in their three consecutive title wins.
Reminded of how the Panthers rebounded from that disappointment, Brisbane hooker Billy Walters said: "We are going to have to. We don't want to make this loss for nothing.
"If we get another chance next year - which I think we might in the next couple of years with this young, skilful group – we are going to have to use it as motivation.
"It just sucks. We had that in our hands. It got taken away in the last three minutes."
The Broncos were error-riddled in the first 20 minutes and the last 20. Penrith maestro Nathan Cleary made them pay.
Captain Adam Reynolds said the pain of a heartbreaking loss would drive Brisbane ahead of the 2024 season.
"You never want to feel that way again so you can use that as motivation," he said.
"We have got a good group of fellas in there that work hard every day and they want to get better every day."
Broncos legend Darren Lockyer reflected the mood in the sheds as he looked back on the 2015 grand final loss to North Queensland in golden point extra time.
"2015 was very cruel and I feel like this was even worse," he said
"In 2015, the game was still close and we lost it at the death.
"We had this in the bag.
"I feel for the players and coaching staff. They had it, it was right there, and to get it taken away from you like that is something you never forget."
Lockyer backed the side to bounce back in 2024.
"The youth is there and while Adam (Reynolds) is still wearing the seven I think there is a window for us," he said.
"To lose one makes you more hungry to win one."
