Broncos win boosts hopes of all-Queensland NRL grand final

The Brisbane Broncos have beaten the Sydney Roosters 31-12 in their preliminary NRL final at Suncorp Stadium tonight, boosting Queensland fans’ hopes of an all-Sunshine State grand final.

The fans' hopes for the first-ever all-Sunshine State decider now rest on the North Queensland Cowboys, who will take on the Melbourne Storm in their preliminary final tomorrow night. 

The stunning performance from the Broncos began less than two minutes into the game, when Darius Boyd scored an intercept try after a Shaun Kenny-Dowall brain snap.

The Broncos jumped to a 16-0 lead after 19 minutes, but strong plays from both sides including two tries by Blake Ferguson brought the score to 20-12 at half-time.

The Broncos widened the gap seven minutes into the second half, with Anthony Milford scoring a brilliant try and a conversion bringing the score to 26-12.

At 18 minutes into the second half, Jack Reed cemented the Broncos’ lead with a try. 

The Roosters failed to score at all in the second half; Kenny-Dowall looked for redemption when he crossed the line in the 42nd minute, but he was denied by the video referee for a forward pass.

Halfback Mitchell Pearce didn't emerge for the second half, staying on the sideline icing his knee.

However, retiring captain Justin Hodges was placed on report for a lifting tackle in the second half, which may make the preliminary final rather than the grand final his last game before retirement. 

Hodges said he was not worried about the incident, and appeared to relish his home-ground send-off.

"It's what I said to the ref - he's [Guerra] sorta jumped and he won the penalty,” he told Channel 9.

"I'll be fine mate - it's one of those things. He jumped in the tackle; I could do nothing about it."

The Broncos have a 6-0 grand final record, and a 2015 victory would be their seventh premiership win under coach Wayne Bennett.

Suncorp Stadium hosted a record NRL crowd for the exhilarating game, with 51,286 attendees. 

The Broncos’ victory has guaranteed the first non-NSW grand final in nine years, since they took on the Storm in 2006.

The Cowboys will play the Storm at 7.40pm in Melbourne tomorrow, and the game will be broadcast live on Channel 9.