That ticks us off,” said Kevvie following the heartbreaking Broncos loss in the grand final.
Coach Kevin Walters of the Broncos, who was visibly upset, claimed his team is “pissed off” after the club’s first championship in 17 years was lost on Sunday night.
Following a second hat-trick from Ezra Mam, the Broncos led the Panthers 24-8 after 60 minutes as they made a run for the championship.
But Penrith halfback Nathan Cleary flat-out refused to go down without a fight, rewriting history by organizing three late tries to win the game 26-24.
After the catastrophic loss, Walters was asked to characterize the mood in the Broncos’ locker rooms.
“It’s really quiet; there’s no feeling there. Simply put, it’s challenging to comprehend what truly occurred. Walters expressed her disappointment.
I feel bad for all the athletes who contributed so much, but ultimately it wasn’t enough.With the exception of a handful, I believe the whole stadium believed we had accomplished enough. Of course, we can improve on it the following year. However, the feeling is currently somewhat vacant.
“I just feel bad for the players there because they gave so much not only tonight but throughout the entire season, and then they finished like that.
“I watched yesterday’s AFL grand final and thought that’s not a pleasant way to lose, the Lions, and here we are sitting here in the same predicament.
Hats up to Penrith; they played some excellent football in the second half. Our starts and finishes need to improve if we want to win games like that.
“We’ll get there by doing that for 80 (minutes),” said coach John Fox of the second half of the game.
We haven’t gotten there yet, but when we do, winning championships will be the point. We’re far closer now than we were a year ago, we’re not far off, and we’re getting there.
Walters claimed that there wasn’t much more he could have done to help his team and that Sunday night the “football gods” were just not on their side.
“The Broncos lost in a manner akin to that of 2015; it was just not the night. I can’t ask my players for anything more than their effort, he remarked.
It’s just the way the game works, and I’ve been in games when it has happened to me as well as on the other side of it when things didn’t go our way for whatever reason. You attempt to find stuff in the game.
“The difference between where the club is now and where it was when all of these gentlemen got their hands on the club is really astounding.
We can be very proud of that, but we were disappointed since we had hoped to win the premiership this year.
Penrith, however, deserves praise as well; they’ve made it to four straight grand finals, which hasn’t happened since I was born. They are a decent team and a fairly elite group, so we must respect them.
The Broncos’ captain Reynolds advised his team to “keep playing footy” in the second half.
“We maybe just lost our momentum a little bit, and we were unable to regain it. He said, “It’s disappointing.
“Losing is difficult in general, regardless of the outcome. Unfortunately, I’ve been on the losing end of it (twice) in a huge game that you want to win.
We had our moments and showed promise at times, but ultimately we were unable to complete the task.
“Use that as inspiration because you want to never go through that again.” There is a good bunch of guys working hard and striving for improvement all the time.
Reynolds appeared to have a groin injury on a routine tackle in the game’s 25th minute, but he continued to play.
“Because it was a little sore, I was considering whether to give Walshy the kicking duties… I could feel it the entire game, but it wasn’t severe enough to stop me from moving,” he continued.